Nightmare Incarnate
by The Phantom of Skyrim
Summary: They thought they knew him, but Naruto Uzumaki was far more complex than Konoha believed, and now they will pay the price. With the help of an unbound spirit from ages past, Naruto will show the world of shinobi what it truly means to be "Nightmare Incarnate"
1. Chapter 1

Nightmare Incarnate

Chapter 1: Origins of Terror

Summary: They thought they knew him, but Naruto Uzumaki was far more complex than Konoha believed, and now they will pay the price. With the help of an unbound spirit from ages past, Naruto will show the world of shinobi what it truly means to be "Nightmare Incarnate"

 **Author's Note: So yeah, this is an idea that my co-author/editor** ** _TheMightyMorgoth_** **suggested to me one day while we were discussing ideas for** ** _The Witch-King Cometh_** **. It started off as a random suggestion, which later developed into a story layout that just wouldn't leave my mind. While this technically won't be listed as a crossover, this story will borrow some ideas from other fandoms as well as a few traits from other familiar characters. (And maybe a stray character or two from other fandoms) So with that being said, let's get this show on the road! Also for those of you that know about my hatred of clichés in fanfiction, I apologize, but this time it was actually necessary for this story. Please note though that this will not be a regular thing. Also, given what this story will eventually entail, I feel that a warning is necessary for those who are sensitive about these kind of things.**

 ** _*Warning: The following story will have many things that may offend people. Violence, blood and gore, torture, psychological warfare, and cannibalism. You have been advised. If any of this offends you, the way out is in the arrow button at the top left of the page*_**

Konohagakure. The "Village Hidden in the Leaves," one of the great and powerful members of the Five Shinobi Nations. Often stated to be one of the more pacifistic nations, always willing to help out the common man, believed to be one of the kinder shinobi villages. Lead by the "Will of Fire" established by the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju, people looked up to that village like they were the heroes.

It is often said, that it is all a matter of perspective.

Perspective, when defined at its core, is simply how humans and other species of the world perceive reality to be. Now some might say that all members of humanity perceive the world in the same way. And while some groups of people may have the same views on a subject, in the end there is only one thing to be said. This belief, like all other perspectives, is subjective to the person who believes it.

For example, one man's hero can be another man's worst nightmare. A kind shinobi village to some, yet at the same time tyrants to others. And what the village itself might see as justice or following of one of their deceased Kages, there are few who see them for the monsters they truly are.

Take the position of one Naruto Uzumaki for example. When the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, sealed the infamous Kyuubi no Kitsune within the boy on the day of his birth, it was his will that the child be seen as a hero for holding back the terrible beast. Minato Namikaze was naïve, and his will was misinterpreted, or rather ignored.

Fear drove the citizens of the village to do what they began to do. They feared the Kitsune, and therefore they feared the boy who held it. Transferring their fear of the Fox to the boy, that fear later turned to hatred. And in their hatred, their capacity for logic decreased, and thus they concluded that the boy was either the Fox bound to human form, or even that the Yondaime sealed the Fox so that they could kill its vessel and destroy the beast forever. And, while possibly sound logic, they never once considered that they were doubting the skills of their leader, or that he might be looking at them from the afterlife in eternal shame. Shame for the actions of the villagers blinded by fear and hatred, and self-loathing for the burden that he placed upon his only son.

Now normally, this could have been a story about overcoming the odds and proving others wrong. Naruto Uzumaki could have fought hard to show the villagers he mattered, or that he wasn't the beast sealed within him. That he would be loyal, and protect them no matter what they did to him. All because he was being the better man. And in the end, they would have changed their perspectives about the young jinchuriki, growing to accept him as the hero he should have been accepted as from the start, even going so far as to cheer for him when he accomplished his dream and finally became the Hokage.

This is not one of those stories.

* * *

This was one of those nights. Naruto could feel it in his bones. He never understood why, but he always seemed to get the feeling that he shouldn't go outside on nights like this.

He still never knew why the villagers seemed to regard him with glares of anger and slight fear. The reason always eluded him. Sure he may not be one of the smartest kids around, but he was by no means a brainless monkey who ran around screaming at the top of his lungs. And while he never showed it or voiced it outright, it bothered him. Naruto was a curious child by nature, and not knowing something annoyed him. Much like the unknown identity of his (presumably) deceased parents.

Naruto did know one thing was for certain. If he stayed inside tonight, then maybe the anger of the villagers wouldn't turn to hatred in an instant, immediately sparking a stereotypical lynch mob hot on his heels.

Outside, lightning cracked across the sky, the bright instant of light illuminating shadows across the walls of Naruto's apartment. For a split second, the shadows of tree branches seemed to appear as monstrous creatures that should only exist in the subconscious of one's mind. Creatures that should only appear in nightmares.

Purging these thoughts from his mind, banishing away his wandering fears and delusions, Naruto curled up on his mattress under a threadbare blanket and did his best to find his so-called "happy place."

It would not save him. Not this time.

A loud bang shook the boy from his tenuous slumber, and the sound of wood splintering and cracking filled his ears before his door fell. And in a crack of lightning, Naruto saw the group of men grinning viciously, the rage and hatred palpable on their faces.

"Get him!" one of the men bellowed, the Konoha forehead protector gleaming on his forehead, his green vest soaked with rain.

The other men he brought with him charged in, all armed with some blunt or bladed object of some sort. Another thing they had in common was the bloodlust evident in their eyes. And their target was right in front of them, trapped in a small apartment with no way out.

Naruto backed up as far as he could, only to find himself alit with despair and terror, for in his panic he had backed up into a corner. And a cornered rat is often disposed of quickly.

First was a man with a cudgel of sorts, littered with nails and other sharp objects stuck into it, who slammed the makeshift weapon across the boy's face. Blood flew from his mouth, splattering the mattress. A second strike smashed into his skull. His vision blurred, and more of the viscous red life essence dripped from Naruto's torn skin. The third hit send him flying out of the corner to slam into his dresser.

Next was another man, this one with an ordinary kitchen knife, who wildly slashed the boy across the back, shredding Naruto's shirt and leaving long gashes that bled profusely. He then wildly raised the knife with a mad gleam in his eyes.

"This is for my wife you monster!"

And with that he brought the blade down and stabbed Naruto right in the stomach, letting loose a howl of agony from the child, while deep within his navel (ironically where he had been stabbed) a certain Kitsune chuckled evilly, drinking in the sound of the boy's suffering, all with a single thought.

 ** _"_** ** _Yes, kill him! KILL HIM! Only then shall I be free!"_**

All the while Naruto's attackers were unaware of the true thoughts of the Kitsune, they simply kept up with their vicious beating.

By now the third member of the party had pulled out what appeared to be a lead pipe, still adorned with the faucet from a kitchen sink, and began raining down blows across anywhere he could on Naruto's body. Ribcage, jaw, shoulder blades, fingers.

Naruto by this point had almost given up on trying to escape, and was once again attempting to find his so-called "happy place" just to try and ease the pain. Not just the physical pain he was feeling from the attack, but the psychological pain as well. And in a small part of Naruto's brain, the terror he was feeling changed slightly. A small piece of anger, which then morphed into a small piece of hatred, had begun to form before storing itself away. And this change was what in time would ultimately would lead to something far greater and more terrible than the Kyuubi no Kitsune itself.

The three attackers held the boy down as their companion walked forward, lightning outside once again illuminating the forehead protector he wore. He knelt down before the young jinchuriki, smirking all the while.

"You may have thought you could escape justice simply by hiding away in human form," the Chunin said in a low voice. "But your time is up Kyuubi."

Naruto's eyes widened for a moment. He was the Kyuubi? It didn't make any sense to the horribly injured boy, and even through his probable concussion he came to a conclusion that didn't add up with what the shinobi was telling him.

If he was the Kyuubi in human form, then why hadn't he transformed into a gigantic demon fox to destroy this village for all the transgressions against him?

If this was the case then logically Naruto should have turned into the creature of their nightmares and annihilated them all. And with no newborns or Yondaime Hokage, Konoha would have been utterly doomed from the moment Naruto felt his mistreatment and decided to do something about it. Yet this wasn't the case. So Naruto could only realize that he most likely wasn't the Kyuubi in human form.

Baffling isn't it? A young boy no older than seven was able to find a discrepancy in the logic that the villagers had believed to be true for years. A discrepancy that took their belief and completely put it to rest. And it also begged the question: if a seven-year-old boy was able to figure out the truth behind the lies the village believed, then what did that say about their intelligence?

Naruto was abruptly thrust out of his thoughts when the shinobi of the group raised his foot and stomped down on Naruto's arm. There was a resounding CRACK following up with a scream of pain from the jinchuriki.

Fighting to stay conscious, Naruto couldn't help but hear the demonic laughter in the back of his mind, urging the boy to give in to the sleep and set him free. Coughing as blood splattered his chin, Naruto looked up at the shinobi through half-lidded eyes. A smirk made its way to the man's face as he glared down at the beaten vessel.

"Time to die Kyuubi," he said happily, raising a kunai in his hand.

Abruptly the scream of one of his allies stopped his planned blow. He turned so fast that it almost seemed like his neck had popped. What he saw was strange, yet terrifying.

He couldn't see what it was, but somehow something had grabbed ahold of the other man and was slamming him up against the wall over and over and over again, each time punctuated with a slightly larger splatter of blood and an ominous snapping and cracking emanating from the man's body. After smashing him into the wall one last time, he was lowered to the ground and dragged to the opposing side of the apartment before tossed out the window. The lightning strike that illuminated the room showed that nothing was there, yet a strange humanoid shadow was formed on the wall.

Slowly, the shadow morphed into a shapeless cloud as the same cloud-like apparition began to form in the center of the room. The shadow then shifted back to the humanoid figure, yet all the while the cloud stayed the same in shape and form.

The formless mass shot forward and grabbed one of the two remaining civilians and yanked him into the air before slamming him against another wall and dragging him upwards. Seconds later, the man (who was by no means physically fit) was forced through one of the small air vents in the apartment. Even though he would never fit.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, coating the room in red once more.

As the Chunin looked around frantically in an attempt to find the strange entity, he turned to the final member of his party screamed in agony as he floated into the air. His arms stretched out, almost appearing to be crucified in midair. Then his body exploded into a pile of gore and bloody chunks. And it was then that the Chunin saw the creature for the first time.

It was humanoid in shape, yet composed of a strange shadowy substance that had a faint bluish tint. It was lean, yet muscular. It was bald, and had no defining facial features whatsoever. No nose, no mouth, no face. Nothing that could even describe it as human in origin. While it appeared to have skin of sorts from whatever it was formed out of, that simply ended at the wrists and ankles, leaving behind skeletal limbs that added to the hellish looking apparition.

The Chunin found his ability to speak suddenly comprising of only gasps of shock and terror. And based on the current stance of the floating creature, it was finding some sick pleasure in the fear emanating from the shinobi before him.

In an attempt to rid himself of any chance of getting slaughtered like the rest of his group by the obviously malevolent entity, the Chunin held up a single handsign and formed three Bunshin and got into a shaky battle stance. The creature tilted its head to the side before floating forward, slowly and deliberately. It eyed each copy briefly before hissing softly. Then its hand shot out as the copies dispelled.

The Chunin glanced down at his chest, horrified to see that the creatures arm was phasing through him. Yet at the same time he began to feel a tightness in his chest, followed by what felt like a blockage in his throat. Then he felt the fingers crawling out of his mouth and gripping his lower jaw. The creature let out a shrill shriek, and the Chunin knew exactly what it would have said could he understand it.

Scream for me.

And try as he might, he could not scream. The specter gripped his jaw tightly with its bony fingers. Then it pulled down and out.

All Naruto himself could see in his pain-induced blurred vision, was the wraith-like creature tearing something out of the Chunin's body. When it dropped with a sickening splat, Naruto saw its handiwork. A huge section of the chest, neck and lower jaw were brutally ripped away, revealing the torn lungs and heart itself. The creature then ripped out the heart of its victim before crushing it in its hand. Then it turned to him.

Naruto could still feel fear, for this creature had utterly destroyed four fully grown men single-handedly. Yet at the same time, he was almost weary. If this thing was going to kill him, then what better way then after he had passed out from pain?

The creature leaned down and inspected Naruto, taking special care to inspect the seal on his navel. The creature hissed and shrieked once more before placing a hand on the seal and phasing through it.

And as Naruto finally slipped into the realm of unconsciousness, he heard the one word spoken by the creature. The first he had understood to have come from its mouth.

Walrider.

* * *

As his mind began to shift from the world of dreams to the world of the living, Naruto was painfully aware that he was not in his apartment.

The bleached white walls, the smell of disinfectant and rubbing alcohol, the faint beeping of machinery and the dripping of an IV. Naruto was in the hospital once again.

He groaned and attempted to sit up, aware of the bandages wrapped around his body and the cast on his broken arm. His ribs were painfully sore, and his head still throbbed from the blows rained down upon it. A patch of gauze or some other white fabric covered one eye, and his stomach burned from where he had been stabbed.

Given the pain that raged throughout his battered body, Naruto abandoned his attempts to sit up and leaned back. As he slowly began to recall the events of the night, he placed a hand on his navel.

What was that thing? Why had it come? And what in the world did the word "Walrider" mean?

His thoughts were abruptly cut off as a searing pain erupted in his navel. Grimacing and gritting his teeth, Naruto watched in fascination as a skeletal black arm phased through his torso, followed by a second arm and then the upper body of the creature from the night before. It rose up from his body, hovering above him and appearing to gaze at him, despite the lack of visible eyes. Naruto gazed back silently before asking his unspoken question.

"What is 'Walrider'?"

The creature hissed before gesturing towards itself.

"Walrider. That's what you are? Or what you're called?"

Another hiss.

"Why did you save me?"

The Walrider tilted its head and let out a rattling intake of air.

Naruto blinked and took in its answer. Chosen. What did he (Naruto assumed, though with a lack of genitalia it was difficult to tell) mean by that?

Any attempt to question the "Walrider" was halted by the door opening. Naruto tensed, awaiting the scream that would most likely pierce the air at the sight of his new "friend" of sorts. Much to his surprise none came, and Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to not even notice the hovering entity.

"Naruto," he said with a kindly smile. "I'm glad to see you are awake."

"Gramps," Naruto said with a smile that quickly became a grimace. "How long was I out?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Several days. I'm afraid you've missed quite a bit of classes at the Academy."

The Walrider, unseen and unheard by the Hokage, let out a warbling shrieking noise that Naruto could only interpret as some form of mocking laughter.

It was at this moment that Naruto remembered the words of the Chunin who attacked him the previous night. Words that even he, in his pain-filled state, was able to see the lie within them. The logic brought on by fear and ignorance. It was then that Naruto asked the question he felt he already knew the Hokage's answer to.

"Why did they attack me? What have I done to deserve their scorn?"

Hiruzen flinched slightly, not noticeably, but enough for the Walrider to let out another bout of laughter as it hovered behind the Hokage.

"I'm sorry Naruto. If I knew I would tell you," Hiruzen said. "But I'm afraid I don't. I'm sorry."

The Walrider's condescending laughter doubled in frenzy and increased in pitch. He looked at Naruto, and for some odd reason Naruto could tell that if it had a mouth it would be grinning like a maniac. Naruto himself fought the urge to hide behind a mask of emptiness.

Hiruzen knew something. He could feel it.

"Now then," Hiruzen said. "You had best be getting some rest Naruto. Sooner you recover, the sooner you can complete all the work you missed. Alright?"

Naruto nodded, a small smile once again on his face. The Hokage then bid him a good day and turned to walk out the door. As the door closed and latched shut, the final word spoken the Walrider stood out in Naruto's mind as it sank back into his navel. A word describing the man that Naruto had seen as a grandfather. A word that Naruto couldn't help but agree with as the smile vanished from his lips.

Liar.

* * *

Knowledge. That was what he was searching. Knowledge. Naruto still wasn't sure of exactly why he was doing this, but he hadn't been let down yet. And it wasn't just the suggestion of his newer tenant that drove the boy, no. He himself desired this. He was to eventually become a shinobi after all. And he would need to become stronger if he wished to succeed.

The fact that he could also protect himself if he got attacked again, without relying on the Walrider, was also rather appealing.

Throughout his searching through the library, perusing scrolls and tomes of jutsu and knowledge, Naruto couldn't help but feel disappointed. Ninjutsu were known to be powerful sure, but they were shinobi. Ninja. And the original shinobi were not people with avid access to a powerful store of energy to perform impossible feats, oh no. They were simply ordinary people who trained themselves to be the best. To strike from the shadows, unseen and unstoppable.

Perhaps that was why Naruto was browsing for more subtle arts. He had always been stealthy. After all, who could escape a squadron of ANBU while wearing an orange tracksuit? So it simply made sense to him to go for stealth, despite still wanting some form of recognition.

The Walrider emerged from Naruto's body, this time phasing out of his back like some twisted shadowy doppelganger. It eyed a couple of the books and hissed in satisfaction before grabbing one and handing it to its current host.

Eying the entity's odd behavior for a moment, Naruto glanced at the title.

"Poisons?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

The Walrider shrieked once more before darting off to phase through one of the shelves, probably going to search once more.

Naruto shook his head before cracking open the book. After some time of having the creature both inside his body and out, he had become used to his antics. That being said, there were times when the Walrider would vanish off somewhere (most likely when his host was sleeping) and go off doing God knows what.

He had no proof, but Naruto had a sinking suspicion that the Walrider had something to do with the missing-person reports that kept popping up.

The Walrider swooped back over, this time with three books in particular. He dropped them on the table in front of Naruto and shrieked, looking as pleased with oneself as a faceless wraith could. Naruto looked at his companion before looking over the other three books. One in particular seemed an odd choice. He held it up for the Walrider to see.

"A gourmet cookbook? Seriously?" Naruto deadpanned.

The entity laughed (or at least gave off the warbling shrieking noise that Naruto had come to associate with the Walrider laughing) before showing the cover of the second book.

"Human Anatomy," Naruto read. "What does that have to do with anything?"

The Walrider gave a low growl that Naruto had come to see as a groan before setting the book down and handing Naruto the final one. As Naruto took the book in his hands, the Walrider darted off again to rifle through the shelves. He looked down and surveyed the title of the Walrider's recent find.

"Known Diseases and their Effects?"

It was times like this that Naruto remembered that he didn't understand much about the entity, other than his name was the "Walrider" and that it was not afraid of killing in spectacularly violent ways. Even though he could understand it to a degree, Naruto still had no idea what went on in the Walrider's mind, or even why he did what he did.

Another book dropped onto the table. Naruto slammed down his own book and glared at the spirit, only to notice the title of the book in question. Picking it up, he looked at the title. Slowly, his irritated frown morphed into a small smirk. Naruto turned to the Walrider.

"Good find," he remarked.

Looking down at the book once more Naruto opened it and started to read. The Walrider hissed happily (or at least Naruto thought) before sinking back into Naruto's body. All that Naruto heard was two lingering words.

Read. Grow.

* * *

Dreams were always a strange realm for Naruto, and the previous nights had been no exception.

The details were a bit hazy, as with most dreams recalled then following morning, but there were still things that Naruto remembered. He vaguely recalled what appeared to be some kind of statue of sorts being enclosed into a gigantic sphere of rock, which was then thrown into the sky and taking place as the moon (at least from what he understood) There was also a woman who was seen briefly.

Naruto couldn't tell much about her, other than an unearthly beauty that was unseen in anyone else he knew. There was a lot of white about her, from her hair to her clothing to the paleness of her skin. He also recalled some sort of large ears on her, or maybe they were horns. His mind was still half-asleep, so it was not impossible for him to be mistaking details.

He felt a familiar tugging sensation in his navel as the Walrider emerged and began floating above him.

"Do you know anything about that dream?"

A shriek was his only response.

"Who was she?"

The Walrider was silent.

Naruto scoffed at the entity before pulling on some clothes and striding over to the kitchen. Thankfully with the use of the Henge technique he was at least able to buy quality food without being overcharged like crazy. That and the cookbook the Walrider had found a while back was useful as well. If he hadn't still been dead-set on becoming a shinobi, Naruto felt that he would at least have a possible career as a chef.

Chopping up the thick strips of bacon, he tossed them into a pan and quickly began frying them. While the meat was cooking, Naruto cracked a few eggs into a bowl and began whisking them. The Walrider watched with interest as Naruto then tossed the seared meat into the bowl of eggs, added a dash of salt and pepper, then poured the mixture back into the pan.

A few minutes later Naruto had made himself a passable breakfast. He was by no means a master chef yet, but he was improving. After placing a portion of eggs on his plate, he then molded a strip of bacon into an oval shape, cooked it and then gently stuck it into the finished meal. Nodding in satisfaction, Naruto picked up his fork and began to eat. He glanced back at the Walrider.

"You're being awfully quiet," Naruto remarked. "Usually you're a bit chattier than this."

An indignant hiss sounded from the entity.

Naruto chuckled softly before taking another bite. Chewing thoughtfully, he eyed the strips of bacon. Something seemed off about the meat somehow. Almost more succulent, with a much better flavor than usual.

Come to think of it, he didn't even remember buying bacon on his last grocery run a couple days ago. Naruto turned to the Walrider once again.

"Did you get this meat?"

The entity was silent, but nodded nonetheless.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he plucked the molded strip of bacon from the eggs and took a bite. He chewed slowly before swallowing. His gaze turned to the Walrider.

"Where did you get this meat?"

The Walrider was silent.

Naruto paled slightly. He turned back to his half-eaten breakfast and set down his fork and knife.

"What was this meat originally?"

The Walrider laughed, not as loud as normally, but rather a low warbled chuckling sound as its vapory body shook slightly. Its response chilled Naruto's blood to the core.

Man.

Naruto turned to his plate and stared. Man. He had been eating human meat. All this time, it was human meat. How long… how long had the Walrider been doing this?

To be honest, it all made sense now. The people that went missing whenever the Walrider left in the middle of the night, always having a stocked meat drawer yet never buying meat himself, the more succulent dishes…

He had the feeling that he should be disgusted, should throw up, cast aside the food and halt all contact with the Walrider. Naruto felt that was what a normal person would do, but he was far from a normal person. The insensitivity to violent killing (the attack in which the Walrider saved him from having not been the first, nor the last) his lack of true bonds within the village (his classmates annoyed him due to their childishness, he didn't trust the Hokage because he was a liar, and he disliked the villagers for obvious reasons)

He knew there were many things wrong with him. And to be honest, he didn't care one bit in the slightest.

Naruto eyed the spirit hovering at his side, then picked up the fork and knife. And with that he began to eat his breakfast once more. The Walrider tilted his head in curiosity, only for Naruto to turn and give the entity a small saccharine smile before taking another bite.

After all, when one has so much wrong with you already, what difference does it make if you add one more thing to the list?

* * *

Naruto fought back a murmured curse as he slammed a fist down on a large red button, flooding the room he was looking into with a miasma of green gas. Shrill shrieks and clicking noises rang out before falling silent. Naruto lifted his hand off the button, shutting down the gas pumps, and groaned before marking another tally on a piece of paper.

The Walrider, equally annoyed at another failure, phased through the viewing window and grabbed the dead experiment by one of its many legs, dragging it off somewhere. Probably to the boiler room under the empty apartment complex. At least then the bodies of the failures would easily be burned.

While eager to complete his experiment, Naruto was also very cautious, and for good reasons. Some attempts, while mostly successful, had been wild and out of his control. Which lead to them inevitably being put down. Other times it wouldn't even breathe after creation, or it had not enough legs. (Or too many legs) Or it was something that while impressive, didn't come out quite right. The pincers were too large or too small, the carapace not thick or light enough.

Add in the fact that Orika of the Sannin had recently fled the village for illegal experimentation, and Naruto had every right to be cautious.

(Interestingly enough, Orika's apprentice Anko left with her and then returned after she abandoned her and branded her with one of her unique Cursed Seals, which lead to Anko swearing bloody vengeance, and thus she gained the villager's support. This event only reaffirmed Naruto's questioning of their sanity and intelligence, especially after the same thing happened with Sasuke Uchiha (only that involved Itachi).)

Naruto briefly considered the possibility of having some form of OCD before picking up his recorder and hitting the button.

"Experimental log, entry 48, code number 18532804. Test subject number 48 of the Insectoid project. Ran into another complication with subject 48. While closest in design to my original plans, like previous subjects 24 and 31, it could not be controlled properly and would not adhere to any of my commands. Another failure. A failure which ultimately had to be terminated like all others before it."

Naruto cut off the recording and sighed wearily. This was proving to be a much harder task than he had originally believed.

The Walrider phased through the wall, settling down a few feet behind Naruto. It peeked over his shoulder and shrieked. Naruto turned to his companion and looked him in the "eyes."

"I don't know about this anymore. We've had so many failures already, and who knows if I can actually control them should we succeed?"

The Walrider gave a keening wail of sorts and gestured towards Naruto's sketchbook. Naruto gazed at the drawings he had made when beginning the project and looked back at the Walrider.

"I know what you mean. Should we succeed it will be both amazing yet terrifying to behold. But we haven't succeeded yet."

The Walrider snarled and grabbed Naruto and steered him up the stairs to the nearest window. He pointed a skeletal finger at the Hokage Monument and let out a series of hisses and other various noises. Naruto shrugged off the Walrider's arm and sighed.

"Yeah, I know. Konoha wasn't built in a day."

The Walrider nodded and hissed again. Naruto cracked his neck and strode back downstairs. He gazed over at a prototype of his, a weapon of sorts. One of the first experimental creations he had made, even though it was not a living creature. Naruto picked it up, eying the canisters at attached to it, and the small tubes leading up to the four large syringes. Smiling fondly, he set the weapon back down and picked up his recorder once more.

"Experimental log, entry 49…"

* * *

He dreamed of the horned woman in white again. The details were much clearer this time, though Naruto distinctly remembered two specific things that weren't in his dreams about her before.

First was a creature of black skin, almost liquid in texture and form, with dull yellow eyes and a fanged grin, slipping out from her sleeve and onto the ground. And the other was a familiar figure of shadowy blue-tinted vapor, lean and muscular with no defining facial features and skeletal limbs, rising up from her back.

Naruto stood from his bed and walked over to the kitchen, unperturbed by the Walrider sealing meat (it looked to be a liver) into a package and storing it in the meat drawer at the top of Naruto's fridge.

"I saw you, last night."

The Walrider paused and turned, shutting the fridge door as he did. He tilted his head and hissed softly.

"The horned woman in white. I saw you with her."

Naruto stepped towards his tenant, a calm expression on his face as per usual. The Walrider hovered closer.

"Who is she?"

One word was the only thing that the Walrider replied with. A single word that raised more questions than answers in Naruto.

Mother.

* * *

Naruto eyed the unconscious man with not a single trace of pity in his eyes, nor a trace of emotion on his face.

The man was pretty normal, not really significant in appearance at all. Just a general everyday Joe you'd see on the street and forget about within the same instance. But Naruto knew better.

This man was one of those civilians who happened to lose both a loved one as well as property in the wake of the Kyuubi's attack. His business had also suffered as well, and like many he had blamed Naruto for it. He had never actually attacked him, but he had overcharged Naruto plenty of times when he was younger and the hatred was still fresh in everyone's mind. Granted, said hatred hadn't lessened, but it wasn't overtly seen much except glares and insults.

As of now, the man was slowly returning to the waking world, only to find his confusion replaced with fear when he realized that he was strapped down to a table in a dark room somewhere.

Then his eyes centered on Naruto, and a small flash of anger appeared in his eyes before noticing Naruto's current attire.

Sure he was still wearing everyday clothing, but there was a layer of plastic over top of them. His face was set like stone, not changing in the slightest, except the eyes. They were cold, dead, yet with a small spark of amusement. It was then that the man noticed the jagged blade in Naruto's hand.

"Ah, awake at last," Naruto said mockingly. "I must apologize for the chloroform, but it was actually rather necessary. I hope there's no hard feelings between us."

Naruto crossed over to the table, blade still in hand, with the Walrider watching with great interest.

"You see Yamada-san, I'm afraid I'm at a bit of a loss as to the logic of most people in Konoha. You all inherently fear the Kyuubi, and funny thing is, somehow you don't fear me even though you believe I am the beast."

By now the blonde teen was standing right beside Yamada, looking thoughtfully at the blade in his hand before setting it down on a tray beside him. Yamada looked nervously at the boy, for once actually feeling fear for the first time since that fateful night when the Kyuubi attacked.

Sweat ran down the side of his head as he began to whisper prayers to Kami and the gods, hoping that a devout follower would be saved from Naruto's clutches.

"Kami will not save you now Yamada-san," Naruto remarked. "I'm afraid the gods will never respond to us. Perhaps it is because we are human, and therefore flawed, and unworthy of their attention. Or perhaps it is because there really are no gods, and the throne atop the heavens is vacant like some have feared."

Naruto turned his gaze to the trapped man, the pupils in his cold blue eyes elongating into slits for the briefest of instances.

"You want to know something interesting Yamada-san? I'm not the fox, despite what most believe," Naruto whispered. "I'm worse. MUCH worse."

Naruto turned and picked up two items, a scroll and a kunai. He spun back around and held both up.

"Here's a little Shinobi 101 for you Yamada-san," Naruto said with a small smile that almost looked too sweet and kind. "When one uses Fuinjutsu they seal a kunai into a scroll, like so."

With a puff of smoke, the kunai was gone and a kanji for the same was marked on the previously blank scroll.

"Now, here's a small pop quiz. Does the scroll become the kunai?"

Yamada shook his head nervously.

"No? Well, that's funny," Naruto said with a chuckle. "Cause in another situation, the Kyuubi is the kunai, and I am the scroll. Funny how logic works isn't it?"

He set the scroll down and crossed over to Yamada's other side, the Walrider hovering unseen behind him, letting out his shrieking cackling all the while.

"You see, the way I see it, certain emotions seem to lead to others. Fear can lead to anger. Anger can lead to hatred. Hatred in turn leads to suffering, though not always the suffering of the one wielding said hatred," Naruto remarked dryly.

He picked up the jagged knife again, and began absentmindedly tossing it up and catching it by the handle or tip of the blade. Naruto's eyes never left the trembling man's form all the while, circling the table.

"So you all feared the fox. That fear was transferred to me by association," Naruto murmured softly, yet still heard by the room's sole other human occupant. "Then the fear turned to anger at the fox, then hatred. All of which was transferred to me, as the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. And thus, that lead to my suffering. My pain."

Naruto stopped and caught the knife by the handle, before turning to face Yamada once more.

"And funny thing is, there's an old saying. 'What comes around, goes around.' And that's what's happened. First I feared you all, praying that one day I would get respect by becoming Hokage. Then it became anger. Why should I suffer for the sins of the monster sealed within me? Then it lead to hatred."

A smile formed on his face, a sickly smile that shone with twisted amusement and glee. And in the dim light of the room, Naruto's eyes almost appeared to be a dull red, like that of dried blood.

"After all, you've all taken a pound of flesh from me," he remarked. "It's about time I do the same."

He pulled out a needle and jabbed it into Yamada's neck, then depressed the plunger. Naruto removed the needle and tossed it aside. Much to his amusement, Yamada was now panicking.

"What did you just put in me?!"

"Oh nothing much. Just a little compound I created. All your pain will be amplified tenfold, and the best part? It keeps you alive until I either slit your throat or remove your heart or brain. It took quite a bit of time to get right," Naruto remarked, testing the sharpness of his blade with a small hair from Yamada's head. "After all, I couldn't exactly get HUMAN test subjects that easily after the Orochimaru incident."

Naruto, satisfied with the sharpness of his current tool, lowered it to Yamada's torso and placed the tip right at his stomach, taking glee in the man's pleading and crying. Naruto raised the knife and glanced back at his victim.

"Who's the one who's afraid now Yamada-san?"

A scream pierced through the air as blood spurted from Yamada's body. The screams only intensified as Naruto began sawing.

"Don't worry Yamada-san," Naruto said kindly. "There are silencing seals all over this room. No one will hear your voice, so you are free to scream for me as much as you like. I will not object in the slightest."

All that followed was more screams of agony, pleading and begging for it all to end, the singing of a blade, and the deranged cackling of a twisted spiritual entity.

* * *

Naruto hummed a small tune as he used a carving knife to cut up his new meat into smaller pieces for storage. Beside him, the Walrider carefully sealed each piece of meat in plastic and placed it in the meat drawer.

Upon finishing his work, Naruto handed off the last piece of meat (a surprisingly healthy brain, which Naruto had not expected, given the lacking intelligence in said lamb) to the Walrider and removed his slightly bloodstained apron before tossing it aside for cleaning. The Walrider shut the fridge and shrieked proudly. Naruto smirked.

"I'll admit, it is much better to get your meat fresh rather than week-old meat at the grocery," Naruto replied.

A hiss followed, followed by what might have been a raised eyebrow if the entity had one.

"Fine, fine!" Naruto said with a smile. "Getting the meat yourself is much more satisfying than going through the middle-man."

The Walrider hissed in triumph before gesturing towards the large bundle wrapped in a garbage bag sitting near the trashcan.

"Oh, that. Don't worry," Naruto said. "I'll make sure to leave it where someone can find it and not have it linked to me."

With a smile Naruto opened the meat drawer and glanced over its contents. Eying a package in the middle, he smiled and turned back to the Walrider.

"Perhaps some liver tonight?" he asked. "With a side of fava beans. And maybe a nice Chianti."

Naruto licked his lips for the briefest of seconds. The Walrider floated still for a moment before shaking his head slightly. Naruto laughed merrily as he picked up the bundle.

"C'mon. Let's go send a message."

He turned and walked out the door, thankful for once that his apartment building was abandoned due to his living here. Naruto then opened the window, pulled up the black facemask and bandanna and jumped onto the rooftops. As he headed towards his destination, he heard the sound of something tearing. And it wasn't the sound of cloth.

Turning behind him, Naruto noticed the upper portion of Yamada's body sticking out of a hole in the bottom of the bag.

"Hmm," he mused. "Maybe I should have double-bagged."

* * *

While Naruto was muttering curses under his breath while trying to keep the body somewhat in the torn bag, a figure watched from an adjacent rooftop.

"So, Konoha finds itself home to a new form of killer then?"

A figure in a black cloak observed the boy carrying the corpse, the solitary Sharingan eye shining with interest from within the singular eye hole of the flame-patterned mask. From the roof to the side of the figure, a Venus-flytrap looking apparatus sprouted from the ground and opened to reveal a two-faced man with green hair: one side white with a mouth, while the other was entirely black with no features excepting the dull yellow eye.

"I'd say he seems pretty confident in himself," the white half remarked. "Though something seems familiar about him…"

 **"** **Something in him,"** the black half replied. **"I don't know why but I am sensing a familiar presence in the boy. And it's not the Kyuubi."**

"No," the cloaked figure remarked. "Though that is the Kyuubi jinchuriki, whatever else you may be sensing might be just as powerful. Maybe even more so."

"What should we do then?" the white half asked nervously.

"Nothing for the time being," the cloaked figure replied. "Though for now keep a close eye on him Zetsu. I wonder what he'll do next."

Zetsu nodded. "You're the boss Tobi."

"Tobi" nodded and vanished in a swirling vortex originating from the eyehole of the mask. Zetsu turned back to observe the boy stabbing a rather large hook attached to a chain through the body. White Zetsu unconsciously licked his lips, while Black Zetsu stayed silent and contemplated why the energy signature he had sensed seemed so familiar and so similar to his own. Then it hit him.

 ** _"_** ** _So, Walrider's come out to play then?"_** he mused to himself. **_"Interesting…"_**

* * *

People were usually accustomed to strange or even disturbing sights when living in a ninja village.

But when a body is found hanging in the middle of the basic "main street" of Konoha, people tended to be pretty shocked. Especially since nothing like this had ever been seen in the history of Konoha.

A familiar grey-haired ANBU in an Inu mask was in charge of the squad intended to keep people away from the crime scene, so as not to taint the evidence. But even for him, it was hard to keep the bile down. And with good reason.

The body was completely nude, and was hanging from a chain via giant hook through the neck. The man (as far as the ANBU could tell with all the mutilations) had been cut open, and most of his organs seemed to have been almost surgically removed. Blood still poured from the open incisions, and the man's face appeared to have been slashed and stabbed repeatedly. At second glance, it almost seemed as if his face was cut off and haphazardly stitched back on. His back was also ripped open, with the ribs splayed out in the form of a "blood eagle"

The cause of death was unknown, but if the expression of his face was anything he died in a horribly terrifying and painful death. And then there was the mark on his forehead. Burnt into the forehead was a black circle, with an upside-down five-pointed star in green.

Inu had no idea who could be ruthless enough to do something like this to someone, but he got the sinking suspicion that this was only the beginning.

Within an hour, all the news stations in Konoha were discussing the meaning behind the killing and even wondering who the identity of the killer might be. Of course, one reporter stated his suspicions of it being the "demon brat" only to be taken away by ANBU at the scene. Most other "Naruto-haters" wisely kept their mouths shut if they didn't want to end up like him.

Naruto watched the proceedings on the television set in his apartment, a small smile on his face. The Walrider watched with interest as well, before sinking into Naruto's body with a few last spoken words. Words which Naruto simply laughed at before repeating as he switched the viewing device off.

"Let the games begin."

 **End Chapter**

 **Author's Notes: Finally! After who knows how long since I first started writing this, it's done! I apologize for the long time in updating, but as most of you already know, I'm terrible with deadlines. Part of the reason me and** ** _TheMightyMorgoth_** **are working together. He helps me with ideas, betas my stories, and also tells me when to get off my ass and finish the chapter in question. Speaking of which, I actually have a message from him for you.**

 ** _TheMightyMorgoth- Hello readers, I am_** **TheMightyMorgoth** ** _. With the combined help of my new friend;_** **The Phantom of Skyrim** ** _, we shall bring about a new age of fanfiction that will be remembered throughout the eons (or however long this website shall last). This shall be the Age of Reclamation, and we shall return fanfiction to its former glory. This is only the beginning of our New Age. So let's continue onward, for the Great Journey awaits us._**

 **Thanks for the inspiring speech my friend! Translated from "Prophet-Speak" here's basically what** ** _Morgoth_** **is saying. All in all, we are planning to continue to bring quality stories (to the best of our abilities) but we are also trying to break the usage of clichés in fanfiction, or at least using them correctly should we need to use them, as well as taking stories down a darker path under most circumstances. This is Fanfiction. "Unleash your Imagination." And we intend to do that.**

 **Where other stories usually fall under a category that constantly uses clichés or overused elements (especially pairings) this is where we make things different. We will be the ones to use things from Halo, Supernatural, Bleach, LoTR, Naruto, etc. without making it utter crap. (Leave a review if any of you are fanfiction readers/authors and you agree with us on his matter. Also _Morgoth_ wants to know what you thought about his speech, so if you have any thoughts on that leave a review as well)**

 **Alright, all prophetic speeches aside, this is going to be an interesting story! I'll let you guys guess one of the main influences on this version of Naruto personality-wise, and just know that he won't be the last! And for those who can't read this fic due to some things that offend you, I won't judge. Just please don't leave any angry reviews involving the cannibalism, alright? Reviews with honest criticism are fine, but not reviews just raging about Naruto eating people.**

 **Alright, that's all I got right now, leave a like, favorite, review, etc. If you have any questions about this story or others I have that I am working on, drop a PM by me or my partner/editor** ** _TheMightyMorgoth_** **. And when he makes reappearances in future Author's Notes, his text will be bold and italicized while mine will be just bold. Or we'll put pen names/initials of pen names when we want to differentiate who is speaking.**

 **See ya on the flip side!**

 **-Phantom**

 **Update: 12/22/2015:** **Hey guys, it's Phantom with a small update. I am currently working on chapter 2 of Nightmare Incarnate with _TheMightyMorgoth,_ however I noticed that there were discrepancies between our original idea and this chapter. Thus, to prevent a continuity error, I made a few small changes which you may have noticed, specifically the gender of Orochimaru and I decided to remove Anko being ostracized like in so many other fanfictions I've seen on this site. **

**So, that's basically it. I'll try to have the next chapter up sometime this week. I apologize for the wait, but college has taken up most of my time. I'm trying to be better about this though.**

 **See ya on the flip side!**

 **-Phantom**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Voracious

 **Author's Note: Okay, it's getting close to Christmas, and I finally have enough time on my hands to get around to finishing this chapter! General reviews so far have been pretty good, though I have reached that point in my writing career I never thought I'd get to. (Not that I'm arrogant in my abilities or anything, but it still came as a shock) I got my first flame! And surprisingly it wasn't about the cannibalism. Thus, to commemorate this event, I shall show you what said person said given the review is… no longer available.**

i get so fed up with you stupid immature children who have no understanding of how to write a proper story. 99.9% of you queer ass children have no idea how to keep readers reading. all you children lack proper imaginations, because you all just plainly suck at what you do find a better hobby you retards.

 **Now first off, I'm okay with criticism. In fact, I welcome it. But this is just straight up flaming right there. Second, if you are going to leave a review such as this, I highly recommend not being a coward and signing into an account so I can either a) refute your argument privately so we can settle this without embarrassing you in public, or b) I can simply ignore you. But hiding behind a guest review, guess what? Those can be deleted. And to add insult to injury, both** _ **Morgoth**_ **and I were going to refute your so-called "argument" in public. But given how long ago it happened, (and the fact that we really don't care anymore) we're not going to do that. I plan on just forgetting about it.**

 **Right, now that that's out of the way, I assume that if you are still reading this then you are expecting the next chapter. Sorry for all that ranting and whatnot, but let's get on with the chapter.**

The time following the discovery of the mutilated body was a strange one for Konoha. Much to the despair of the ANBU, Inu's prediction about the body not being the last ended up proving correct.

The intervals between the discoveries of new bodies was always varied, sometimes they turned up within days of each other while others showed up months in between each other. From what the Investigation Department discovered, there was no distinct pattern behind any of the victims. Male, female, civilian, shinobi (though rare) it mattered not. The only similarities were how they died; surgical removal of organs done with the victim most likely still conscious and living, the brain fried beyond any recovery of memories by a Yamanaka (in the cases when the organ was still in the body) and the symbol burned somewhere on the body of the victim.

Though a common theme was that the disfigurement of the body was nowhere near as violent or messy as before with the first victim, nor were all of the organs missing as before. Usually it was either a single organ or at most three missing. But that symbol, the symbol persisted on every corpse.

And with each new body found with that damnable mark somewhere on it, the ANBU slowly got more restless and irritated. It was almost like someone was mocking them, the Black Ops of the village. The best of them all.

The villagers were slowly becoming more and more restless, partially due to the bodies being hung in a public place to be found by all, and also for obvious reasons. No one appeared to be safe except those advanced in age (no elderly bodies had been found) and everyone found themselves with a healthy sense of paranoia. Could they be next?

For not the first time since the tragedy, and nor would it be the last, the civilian populace of Konohagakure wished that the Uchiha Police Force were still around.

* * *

Naruto sat in his apartment, several books strewn about the room while he eyed the newspaper in his hand.

Upon seeing the front page was about the "Unidentified Serial Killer" Naruto snorted. Folding it shut, he set it aside and stood up from his armchair. He crossed to the window and gazed out over the village. Glancing back at the newspaper headline again, he scoffed again and brushed his unkempt hair out of his eyes with his hand.

"'Unidentified Serial Killer,' please," he remarked to himself. "The least they could do is at least NAME me. I mean really, it's just rude."

The Walrider rolled his eyes (or at least the area where he would have eyes moved slightly) in response to Naruto's complaint. Naruto sighed and turned to walk into the kitchen, tying an apron around his waist as he went.

Naruto walked over to the fridge and opened the meat drawer. Pondering for a moment, he pulled out a pair of his recently made sausages and set them out on the counter. Looking in the lower section, he pulled out a carton of eggs, and a jug of milk. Naruto then pulled open the fruit/vegetable drawer and pulled out a tomato, an avocado, celery, and a red pepper. He set all of these next to the meat and pulled out a frying pan and a bowl. Idly twisting the dial on the small radio nearby, Naruto set to work with a small smile as the orchestral music began to flow through the apartment.

Reaching over to a basket beside the fridge, Naruto pulled out two bread buns. He wasn't sure exactly about the style of them, but the braided form of the dough had intrigued him when he first saw it, so he bought them on impulse. Naruto pulled out a small knife and gently cut out two oval shaped sections in the top of the buns.

Filling the pan with an inch of oil and setting the flame, he gently laid the two buns down. Adjusting the heat, Naruto turned back to the bowl and pulled out an egg. He flipped it in the air with a spatula and twisted the utensil sideways as the egg came back down.

The shell split and came to rest on the spatula, the whites and yolk flowing down into the bowl.

Naruto pulled out another bowl and repeated the process with a second egg. Picking up the first one, Naruto carefully poured the egg into the oval cutout of one of the buns. He repeated this with the second. Gently sprinkling a dash of salt and pepper over the buns, he then gingerly placed his sausages in the oil alongside them.

Humming along to the tune of the music playing beside him, Naruto carefully removed the finished buns/eggs and set them on a paper towel to drain away excess oil while the sausages finished cooking.

Once the sausage was finished and placed on a plate with the buns/eggs, Naruto turned back to the fridge pull out another package, though this one wasn't anything to do with meat. Pulling the peeled pear out of the liquid-filled bag, Naruto set it down on the board and carefully sliced it into thin slices. He arranged the slices on the plate and turned back to the counter one last time.

Cutting off parts of the vegetables (and fruit) and slicing them into smaller chunks, he mixed them all together into a salsa of sorts and placed small portions atop the eggs in the buns.

Satisfied with how the meal turned out, Naruto carried the plate over to the table. The Walrider swooped into the room, eyeing the plate before looking at Naruto questioningly.

"Huevos High Time," Naruto replied. "Served with homemade Blood Sausage, and wine-soaked pears."

The Walrider, though never actually being able to taste the food Naruto cooked, nodded in approval. He darted over to the end table near Naruto's chair and held up the worn cook book he had located years ago.

"Fine. I'll admit that book was invaluable after all," Naruto said with a roll of his eyes.

The Walrider hissed as he set the book down. Naruto shook his head at the spirits antics and picked up his fork and knife. Deftly cutting off the tip of a sausage, he placed it in his mouth and chewed. Giving a small smile, he then cut a portion of the egg/bun and took a bite.

While eating his breakfast, Naruto glanced over to the fridge and frowned slightly. Swallowing the portion in his mouth, he stood and strode over to the fridge. Opening the meat drawer, Naruto's frown deepened. Shutting the fridge, he sat back down and looked at the Walrider.

"We're running low."

The Walrider hissed at his host.

"Yes I know we haven't been hunting in a few days," Naruto replied. "Problem is I haven't had any good targets to go after. Without a chosen prey, we can't collect the meat. It's that simple." He paused for a moment and pondered. "Well, there's that, and the fact that the drawer itself was on the verge of overflowing for a couple days."

The spirit nodded at Naruto. Naruto then turned back to his breakfast and proceeded to finish eating. After taking his plate to the sink, he then turned and walked to his dresser to get dressed for the day.

When he was done, he was clad in a white robe-like shirt rather reminiscent of the Hyuuga clan as well as black trousers. The only difference was that it was that the Hyuuga clan symbol was absent. Buttoned over the shirt was a purple vest adorned with iron buttons and various different seals in the fabric (not that anyone really noticed them)

Naruto pulled his long hair, satisfied that he had actually managed to get the hair to straighten out and not clump into uncontrollable spikes, into a (slightly) spiky ponytail that fell down to his mid back using a small gold cylinder lined with intricate red designs. Rolling up his sleeves, he walked over to where he stored his weaponry. Pulling out a bronze gauntlet of sorts, he eyed the syringe attachments to the back of the hand area before setting it aside in favor of the second item.

Glancing over the gleaming gauntlet, Naruto strapped it to his forearm and adjusted the mechanisms. Glancing at the Walrider, he smirked as he flexed his wrist, unsheathing a razor-sharp blade from the topside of the gauntlet. Sheathing the tanto-sized blade, Naruto pulled his sleeve down over the gauntlet. Turning to a third mechanism, he took it and strapped it between his left forearm and wrist, carefully positioning the three individual barrels to aim in the same general direction of his fingers. Loading them with senbon, Naruto pulled back on the conjoined wires and released. A trio of senbon speared out from the mechanism, phasing through the startled Walrider, before stabbing the opposing wall.

Smirking, Naruto ignored the outraged wailing and shrieking of his partner and removed the senbon from the wall before slid them into a pouch filled with more of the needles. With a flick of his arm, his sleeve fell down to cover the firing mechanism.

He reached for the standard shuriken and kunai pouches, strapping them to his waist and leg respectively. Naruto also grabbed the pouch of senbon needles, as well as another pouch containing several vials, each one being a different type of poison or venom. These he also strapped to his waist.

Smiling in satisfaction, Naruto went to close the closet, only to pause upon spotting the object lying there. He picked it up, eyeing the black gas mask thoughtfully before setting it down and glancing at the clothing hanging near its resting place. Reaching forward, Naruto smoothed out a few wrinkles in the plastic and the black clothing hanging behind it. Sliding the clothing along the rack, Naruto gazed at the neatly arranged stack of silvery metal plating on the shelf behind them. He gently ran a finger over a helmet of sorts, the upper portion curving upwards and forming a backwards-facing spike. The guard covered the mouth and a portion of the upper facial area, with blank open space left between them. Naruto smiled, brushing off some dust from the helmet before stepping back.

His gear now in place, Naruto turned and walked over to the door. The Walrider darted over from his position in the corner before falling in line with Naruto's stride, mimicking it perfectly as he got closer and closer to his host before merging back into Naruto's body.

Opening the door of the apartment complex, Naruto inhaled deeply with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and started out down the street, ignoring the usual glares and whispers that accompanied his journey. They didn't bother him as much as they once did. After all, what use was it wondering what animals thought of humans anyways?

Besides, even if they did act against him physically, what use was it when facing someone with a complete lack of empathy and an apathetic disregard for human life?

The villagers had learned some form of survival instincts after a couple years of Naruto's newfound lack of restraint. There was an unspoken agreement between them. Don't piss off Naruto, he won't harm you physically, mentally, and socially all at once. Not even the ANBU would intervene unless Naruto actually got close enough to killing someone. Even they had a slight unease around him.

It wasn't that they feared the Kyuubi within him (though that was enough to make them wary) but the one thing they feared most about him was his unpredictability. Bipolar shinobi was one thing, but for someone to go from politely speaking to someone to insulting them while beating them into the ground was another. Especially when said someone was still in their teens.

As Naruto walked down the street, one of the many people walking alongside him happened to shove past him with his shoulder, knocking him slightly to the side. Naruto froze for a moment and cleared his throat calmly.

The man stopped and turned, a sneer forming on his face at the sight of the village pariah.

"What do you want ya little prick?" he growled.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. The other civilians around them all stopped and stared in a mixture of awe and horror. No one ever spoke that way to Naruto. And came out unscathed that is.

"You got something to say to me? Or you just gonna walk along?"

Naruto chuckled, a sound that immediately put the spectators on edge. Naruto laughing was always a bad sign.

"Something to say to you?" Naruto replied, his eyes hard while the smile never left his face. "Now why would I need to speak to an uncivilized animal such as yourself?"

The civilian's eyes widened, before they narrowed angrily.

"Oh, so that's how you wanna do it then punk?" he snarled, reaching forward and jabbing his finger into Naruto's shoulder.

The crowd gasped. Naruto's gaze hardened as his teeth ground together, the smile vanishing in an instant.

"No," Naruto said. "It's obvious that a mongrel such as yourself needs to be taught some manners. Such rudeness is not something I tolerate."

With that, Naruto grabbed the civilian by his shoulder and flipped him over his shoulder before slamming him to the ground. The man didn't even have time to yell before Naruto stomped on his arm, breaking his elbow and his arm.

The crowd began to back away as quickly as possible, all the while trying to avoid Naruto's ire. Naruto grabbed the man by his hair, lifted him up, and slammed him back down onto the side of the curb.

"Filthy mongrel," he hissed through clenched teeth.

Rolling the groaning man on his back, Naruto raised a foot and stomped down on his chest, receiving a yell of pain in return.

"Uncivilized animal."

Raised foot, stomp. Yell.

"Ungrateful sow."

Raised foot, stomp, and crack. Yell.

With a final stomp, and another ominous cracking followed by a coughing of blood, Naruto stepped back. He hawked and spat, right on the man's face.

"Disgraceful cur."

Ignoring the moaning civilian, Naruto turned and walked away. He composed himself once more, idly brushing his hair back as he continued on his way.

The ANBU crouched on the rooftops cringed at the sight. Stowing away his orange book, he sighed and shook his head. He dropped down and raised a hand to his earpiece while he knelt down by the beaten man.

"Inu here," he remarked. "We need another response team."

 _-What the hell happened Inu?-_

Inu sighed. "Naruto, as usual."

The voice groaned for a second before sending out the call. Within minutes, the jokingly named "Naruto Response Team" had arrived at the scene. They each carefully lifted the man onto a stretcher and began transporting him to the hospital.

The ANBU known as Tenzo dropped down beside Inu, watching them go.

"And here I was thinking we'd have some peace and quiet for a while. Should have known not to make that bet."

"Hey, when Naruto stopped beating civilians within an inch of their life, I knew that he would snap eventually," Inu replied. "You just haven't been on the watch for long enough to know about his habits."

Tenzo shook his head. Sure he hadn't been on the squad for long, but even so he had thought that the rumors of Naruto's infamously short temper were just that. Rumors. As he found out first hand, this was not the case.

"Think there's any way that we can prevent him becoming a shinobi? He's still too unstable. If this is how he reacts to people he's supposed to protect, then how can we guarantee the safety of his comrades?"

Inu turned and stared at Tenzo, the eye that made up his nickname spinning ominously.

"That's not for us to decide Tenzo," Inu said in a low voice. "Naruto's situation is unique. As long as he carries that burden, he's practically guaranteed to become a shinobi. Besides, it's up to the Sandaime, not us."

Tenzo pondered for a moment before accepting the answer. With a single handsign, he vanished in a swirl of leaves. Inu leapt back up onto the rooftops, before taking off in the direction of the Academy.

* * *

Naruto strode into his classroom, his eyes subtly perusing over his classmates, almost eager to see their reactions to his entrance. He was not disappointed.

A good portion of the class, the ones that came from civilian families primarily, all looked away whenever he turned his gaze on them, with little variations between uneasiness and outright fear. The ones from the shinobi clans however, they seemed to be made of the sterner stuff than the others, though they too showed a slight wariness towards Naruto whenever he approached or looked in their general direction.

Granted there was only one exception to those of the shinobi clans, and that was the Hyuuga heiress. She always seemed to watch Naruto carefully, and then duck her head and blush whenever he looked at her.

Had Naruto remained naïve and dense for the rest of his life, he might have questioned this behavior until it became so obvious that even he couldn't ignore it. But since meeting the Walrider, he had begun to examine human behavior more closely than before. And thus it was simple for him to conclude that she had a crush on him. How that was possible, Naruto had no idea. He was a cannibalistic psychopath for Yami's sake. (Though nobody knew about the cannibalism after all)

Part of him wondered if it was his actions when he was younger that attributed to this, and thus she now proceeded to see everything he did with rose-tinted lenses or something. Given that it was mostly harmless, Naruto proceeded to leave her be for now. (Though the stalking was a bit much)

Another exception to the standard behavior of the students was one of the few that consistently scored better than Naruto, and that was Sasuke Uchiha. Before Naruto's gradual change, Sasuke had simply seen him as an annoyance to be ignored. But as Naruto's mannerisms slowly changed, as well as his skills improved, Sasuke looked upon him with a grudging respect of sorts. Given that he was one of the few that did so, Naruto found himself also having some form of respect for the Uchiha heir.

Granted, Sasuke held a much different skill set than Naruto did, but he just as skilled in those areas as Naruto was in his chosen areas of expertise. (Even if Sasuke was more suited for a front-line fighter, unlike Naruto)

Sasuke met Naruto's gaze, staring unflinchingly at the blonde's bland expression. Naruto returned with a polite nod of the head before sitting down beside him.

"Uzumaki," Sasuke greeted, lifting his face briefly from its place behind his hands.

"Uchiha," Naruto replied, smoothing back a few stray hairs.

No other words were needed between them. There were some things that just didn't need to be said between two such as themselves. They both understood that sometimes all that was needed was simply silence.

Unfortunately the silence was broken when the familiar sounds of two arguing teenage girls filled the hallway. Naruto stifled the groan that threatened to escape. By the sounds of it, it was Yamanaka and Haruno.

They were by far, two of the most annoying people he had ever had the misfortune of meeting. Granted, after the Sandaime made a large amount of alterations to the Academy curriculum, the two had gotten a bit better at what they did. (Naruto suspected it might have been due to the fact that kunoichi were now actually expected to be able to fight, and not just arrange flowers like they had been taught before)

Ino Yamanaka quickly began to excel at classes that dealt with plants and poisons (almost rivalling Naruto in that regard, though he still came on top in terms of creative poisons) as well as finding that her skill with her clans Mind-based jutsu also helped her with the forming and casting of Genjutsu (Even Naruto and Sasuke gave grudging admission to her skill there) though she lacked the endurance for prolonged physical combat. That and her personality (typical teenage girl) left much to be desired. How Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi were able to stand being around her for prolonged periods of time baffled Naruto (and surprisingly enough the Walrider)

Sakura Haruno found herself on the path to becoming a talented medic, which was further enhanced by her practically perfect chakra control, and she had managed to partially recreate Tsunade Senju's technique to increase one's physical strength. While not perfect or instinctive like the legendary medic's ability, she was still able to use it to great effectiveness to the point that most were wary of battling her in Taijutsu unless she was forbidden from using the technique. That being said, her personality was also something that Naruto quickly grew to dislike. She was impulsive, stubborn, rather vain, and had an unhealthy obsession with the Uchiha clan heir. (Naruto questioned why he even had a crush on her once when he was younger. To this day he had no concrete answer for his actions)

As usual the two were arguing, presumably about who got to sit with Sasuke. Naruto sighed, stood up, and cleared his throat.

The effect was instantaneous. The two squabbling girls immediately silenced themselves and stared over at the blond. Naruto let a polite smile form on his face, but his eyes showed none of the cordiality his expression did.

They were cold, hard, and shining with annoyance, like that of a man looking at a particularly irksome insect buzzing around his head.

"So terribly sorry to interrupt," he remarked. "But given that I have stood up now, there are two open seats beside Sasuke. So therefore, you don't need to argue anymore… am I correct?"

Both girls nodded, a few small beads of sweat rolling down the side of their faces. Naruto's smile widened by about a quarter of an inch.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be finding a new seat now."

Sakura and Ino quietly moved to sit on either side of Sasuke, the Uchiha not reacting much except a small nod towards Naruto. Naruto returned the nod, before walking up and sitting down beside the Hyuuga heiress. He got a small amount of pleasure at hearing the "eep" she made before turning bright red and trying to hide within her coat. The Walrider briefly stirred within Naruto's body, but settled down seconds later.

At that moment the two teachers for the class made their appearance. Naruto sighed inwardly as Iruka began giving his usual "do-your-best" speech that he gave before every test. The assistant, Mizuki, simply stood to the back. Once the speech was over, Mizuki brought forth the usual written test that preceded the true exam.

Due to his large reserves of chakra, Naruto would have been hard pressed to pass the original exam, which included being able to form a Bunshin. Upon realizing this, the Walrider urged him to get this changed. While he didn't wish to speak with him, Naruto had no choice but to bring this information to the Sandaime.

At first, Hiruzen had not believed Naruto. That was until Naruto brought forth undeniable evidence that the test was far too biased. It was then that the Hokage proceeded to make several changes to the exam.

No longer was a student's chances of passing based on a simple Bunshin technique. Now the test segmented into multiple parts that changed based on what the student chose to focus on in their classes. There were sections for Medical Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Accuracy with ranged weapons (while being able to dodge incoming attacks) Elemental Ninjutsu (should they have found their elemental affinity), Anatomy and Poisons (one of Naruto's personal favorites), Stealth, T&I, and the list goes on.

Not only did this help with giving students more options, it also prevented them from making the least possible effort needed to pass and having the Jonin sensei's pick up the slack with extra training. The graduation age was also upped, due to them not being in wartime and it helped determine which were actually serious about becoming a shinobi, and which were just there because it seemed like the "cool thing to do."

Of course, the written test was still there. Though it was mostly formality at this point, and few actually failed it.

Naruto smiled softly as he put his pencil down. The Sandaime may still be a liar in his books, but at least he was able to do something after all. It wouldn't do for the Hokage to not have a spine against his own people, now would it?

His eyes flitting around the room for the briefest of moments, taking in the sights of the students who were either painfully obvious in their struggles (few as they were) or those who had a strong probability of success.

The Nara clan heir had his head down, his paper flipped over beside him. Either he had given up, or he had already finished before Naruto himself. His eyes narrowed a fraction at the thought. It wasn't out of the question, for members of the Nara clan were known for both their laziness as well as insanely high IQ.

The Inuzuka clan heir seemed to be debating whether or not to actually complete the written exam. At his side was the gigantic wolf-like dog that was the standard for his clan. In terms of written tests, he would have been considered the worst in the class (or "dobe" by most students) but Taijutsu was where he thrived for the most part.

Like the Nara heir, Sakura Haruno had also finished the test within minutes, though she seemed to appear smug that she had done so. Her smug expression faded when she noticed that Naruto had finished before her. Inwardly Naruto chuckled. She could be rather petty at times over the smallest of things, be it something related to Sasuke or anyone perceived as doing better than her in her main area of expertise.

Sasuke had also finished his test, though he preferred to simply sit in his usual stance after he finished. No doubt in Naruto's mind that Itachi was the main subject of Sasuke's thoughts.

The Aburame heir was still working on his paper, silent and stoic as ever (with the exceptions of a few scattered buzzing sounds from the insects in his body)

A massive smirk formed on Naruto's face, a smirk that bared his teeth and gums as he relaxed in his seat. No need to think more on them. They didn't really matter after all.

It wasn't long before the final papers were turned in and stacked neatly on Iruka's desk. After he picked them up and left the room, the students began chattering amongst themselves. Naruto gazed around the room, taking in the sounds rebounding through the classroom. Most of it just seemed trivial and often centered around either everyday life or the delusions of grandeur flowing through the minds of those in the room. Most of it was all the same, and it usually came from those of civilian families.

Saving princesses from a far-off land and receiving her undying gratitude in response.

Gaining fame and fortune for their efforts.

Meeting the boy of their dreams and living a happy life with said boy. (This usually was Sasuke in the minds of most of the girls, with the exception of Hinata and a couple other outliers)

Naruto shook his head. Utter meaninglessness. Fame was a double-edged sword in the shinobi world, both garnering respect and fear and completely ignoring the entire purpose of being a shinobi. Saving others (not necessarily princesses) took too much effort and usually did little in regard for a reward unless you were some paragon of virtue who took joy in things like that. Fortune, while good to have, did not accompany you into the afterlife, therefore eliminating the entire purpose of gathering wealth if it was only temporary. You would be better off simply gathering resources to survive and leave it at that.

This train of thought only further reminded Naruto that his meat drawer was running low. Idly, he glanced over his classmates, wondering whether or not they might make good targets. The Walrider responded briefly to that train of thought.

Too thin. Not enough muscle.

On this Naruto couldn't really argue with. His classmates were too young to hunt down. They weren't fully grown yet, and the Walrider was right in that he wouldn't get much meat off of them. That and it might spark the investigation to accelerate at a more frenzied pace with the populace knowing that not even their children were safe.

His thoughts were interrupted when another shouting match began between Ino and Sakura, with Sasuke being the topic as usual. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he mentally groaned. They never really shut up for long did they?

Naruto idly wondered whether or not the two girls would still be able to yell if he cut their throats open and left their vocal cords exposed.

Violent thoughts aside, Naruto looked back up when Iruka returned to the room and proceeded to get the rest of the class to stop talking (through the use of a curious jutsu which enlarged his head three times the normal size and amplified his voice just as much)

"Right, now that that's done," Iruka remarked. "We are now going to move on to the specialized exams for those who took the classes required for them. Find the examiner for the exam you wish to test in first, and follow them to the exam room."

Naruto glanced at his list of various "elective" courses. The Walrider hissed a brief mental suggestion, which Naruto obliged as he headed for the examiner for the Poisons exam.

Lo and behold, the examiner was one of Konoha's resident poison (or rather venom) experts. Anko Mitarashi. Anko was an interesting one for the most part, and she took her status as a kunoichi very seriously (unlike some) due in some part to her training at the hands of the rogue Sannin Orika. Like her former teacher, she utilized a multitude of serpent-based techniques in battle. Not only that, but from what little Naruto had observed, she also was a fan of psychological warfare against her opponents. Granted, this was due to her status as an interrogator for the village.

On terms of her personality though, Naruto still found flaws as with any other human being. She was cocky, almost as arrogant as himself at times, and in battle she tended to toy with her opponents for far too long. Her obsession with killing her former sensei was also something that just rubbed Naruto the wrong way. Should there be any mention or rumor of Orika's location being close by, Anko would drop everything to chase after her, forgetting that despite her considerable skill, Orika could destroy her without batting an eyelash. It was this complete and utter lack of self-preservation (she had learned a suicide technique in the hopes she could use it to take out the teacher who taught said move to her. Now that just screamed a lack of common sense) that earned Naruto's distaste.

The fact that she also dressed in nothing but a mesh shirt, skirt, and trench coat did nothing to help dissuade that distaste. He would not deny she was attractive, but she flaunted it to everyone that saw her.

Regardless, Anko Mitarashi was good at her chosen craft. Her teaching methods though, left much to be desired.

"Heads up boys and girls, I'll be your examiner if you've chosen to actually attempt to make a competent poison! You ready? Good! Follow me!"

Naruto eyed the woman for a moment before sighing and following after her. Unlike some of the more well known archetypes of the shinobi lifestyle they were being tested, there was not a large amount of students choosing to be tested in poisons. Most preferred flashy ninjutsu or taijutsu moves in preference to the more subtle arts of killing.

Anko lead the small group to the next classroom, before standing in front of the blackboard with her usual cocky smirk on her face.

"Alright brats, now that we're here, I'm going to watch you all take your best shot at making a poison that could actually kill something, and then we're going to test them out! Use whatever you have at your disposal, and get cracking!"

Naruto eyed her for a moment before walking over to one of the desks and sitting down. He glanced around as the other students wandered over to the supply closet to pick out ingredients (though for some odd reason, nightshade was one that seemed to appear frequently in their ingredient lists) The flowers

Having never been one to rely on others, Naruto pulled out a sealing scroll and flipped it open. He bit his thumb and pressed it against multiple seals, extracting the ingredients within each one.

Perusing over his collection, he plucked up some Wolfsbane, Belladonna seeds, Water Hemlock, and seeds of the Castor plant. Resealing the other ingredients, he then unsealed a mortar and pestle. Taking up the pestle, he dropped four Belladonna seeds into the mortar before grinding them into powder and pouring the powder into a small bowl. He then repeated the process with the Castor seeds, before placing two flowers of the Water Hemlock into the mortar. Unlike the seeds, when ground up the Hemlock took on a more paste-like consistency. After removing the Hemlock paste and placing it into the bowl with the ground up seeds, Naruto then took two flowers of Wolfsbane and carefully tore them apart and dropping the shreds into the bowl. After sufficiently mixing the ingredients into a liquid state, Naruto pulled a syringe out of one of his belt pouches and filled the syringe with his crafted poison.

Anko, who had been at this point absent-mindedly wandering the room while munching on a dango stick, noticed Naruto's finished product.

"I have no idea what kind of concoction you came up with Uzumaki," she remarked. "But we'll see if it's any good in terms of killing." The second part was said with a malicious smirk, and a rather condescending tone.

Naruto smiled, teeth and gums bared in response.

"You'll see, _sensei_ ," he replied mockingly. "You'll see."

The snake mistress of Konoha was a bit taken aback, but she quickly recovered and walked away. Naruto's smile faded as a sneer of disgust was aimed at her back. Glancing around and seeing the other students still working, he simply pulled out a book from his bag and began to read.

Thankfully he didn't have to wait long, as the other students (he refused to call them peers) finished their own mixtures and waited for Anko to bring out the victims/test subjects for them to test the effectiveness of their poisons.

Shortly after they finished, Anko returned with a large cage filled with several (arguably adorable to most) rabbits. Some of the students turned a little green at the thought, and Ino Yamanaka looked on the verge of either fainting or bursting into tears. As of that moment, Naruto was the only one unaffected, though his thoughts did wander a bit.

He idly wondered whether cooked rabbit meat would go well with anything in his fridge. After all, one must have some variety in their diet, no?

For each of the students, Anko proceeded to grab a rabbit from the cage, set it in front of them, and instruct them to demonstrate their poisons. Some were bland, doing nothing except inducing cardiac arrest and killing the rabbit almost instantly (albeit "humanely") while others outright failed or were slow-acting to the point that it would take a day or two before they could tell if the poison was effective or not. Ino's poison was one of the better ones, a slow-acting poison that not only killed, but paralyzed as well. It was slow-acting, but didn't take days to kill unlike some of the others. Naruto, unsurprisingly, was picked to go last.

"Alright ponytail," Anko called. "You're up, and try to make sure this thing actually dies okay?"

Naruto gave another gum-bearing grin, his eyes hardening slightly, before standing up and readying his syringe. The rabbit, sensing its peril, tried to hop away frantically. It was stopped when Naruto lashed out and grabbed the animal by the torso, before jabbing the syringe in its neck and depressing the plunger. He removed the syringe and released the rabbit, as the concoction began to take effect.

The rabbit began to convulse slightly, its pupils dilating as it staggered around the desktop. The animal began hacking and coughing as it stumbled and shook its head from side to side.

Naruto's grin returned, wider and toothier than before. It had only just begun. The Walrider hissed in approval from within Naruto's body.

The rabbit by this time had begun to vomit, regurgitating half-digested rabbit food and grass, all the while wheezing and trying desperately to breath. It began squeaking in alarm as it ran (as much as possible) across the desktop, seemingly trying to escape from some invisible predator. The stress, as well as the vomiting and respiratory distress finally caused the poor animal's heart to give out, as it fell over. Dead.

The class was dumbstruck with horror. Sure Naruto was always weird, psychotic even, but they had never before seen someone take such maniacal joy in watching an innocent animal die. Naruto's grin faded, as he groaned and made a note on a small pad.

"Didn't even show all the symptoms," he murmured. "I'll need to test this on something bigger next time."

Anko turned and stared at Naruto, her eyes wide as her mind began to take in what she had just seen. It wasn't like she had seen Naruto himself standing there, but rather her old sensei in his place.

"What the hell was that Uzumaki?" she said in a low voice.

Naruto looked up from his notepad and gave a small smile, though not his usual toothy grin.

"A concoction of my own creation, a mixture of two parts Wolfsbane, four parts crushed Belladonna seeds, two parts ground Water Hemlock, and three parts crushed Castor seeds. Is that all you need?"

Anko stared at the blond before glancing back at the dead rabbit on his desk. She then looked back at Naruto.

"What effects does that poison have?" she asked.

Naruto paused for a moment before pulling out a small handwritten sheet of paper stuffed in his notepad.

"Various symptoms include, but not limited to, nausea/vomiting, burning sensation, numbness of mouth and face, burning of the abdomen, dilated pupils, rash, staggering and loss of balance, slurred speech, hallucinations and delirium, respiratory distress, and death."

Anko stared in horror at Naruto before asking the one question on everyone's mind.

"Is there a cure?"

Naruto laughed darkly, his toothy grin returning in full force.

"Of course not," he said. "Why on earth would you want to cure someone you've poisoned if your intention is to kill them?" he retorted with an air of talking to a slow young child.

Naruto bit back another laugh at the horror-struck faces of the other occupants in the room. He proceeded to pack up his supplies and head for the door, ignoring the fact that they backed out of his way.

"Uzumaki."

He stopped and turned to face Anko once more, one of his eyebrows raised slightly.

"You said symptoms _include_ but not _limited to_ ," she remarked. "Are there other symptoms you haven't told us yet?"

Naruto's held back laughter finally broke through.

"Maybe. But even if there are more, do you really think I'd tell you what they are?" he replied. "We are shinobi. Shinobi must preserve some form of professional secrets, no?"

And with that, he strode from the room and returned to Iruka's classroom to await his next exam.

* * *

It wasn't long before the rest of the students had returned to the classroom from the other exams, each talking and speculating how well they did on the exams they had just completed (or simply putting the event down as "troublesome" in the case of the Nara heir) So far though, the only ones who were actually quiet were those who usually never talked much (such as Shino or Sasuke) or the ones who witnessed Naruto testing his poison in the last exam. Iruka then walked into the room and told them to get ready for their next exams.

Naruto looked over his list of preferred subjects before walking over to Mizuki, the examiner for Weapons and Accuracy. The chosen examiner for this subject wasn't much of a surprise either, given that from what Naruto know of him was that he was rather skilled with a fuma shuriken. Though the only difference was that Mizuki had a former student (one who just graduated last year in fact) as his assistant and co-proctor.

She was plain, not that special in terms of attractiveness, though the two buns in her hair might be seen as cute to some people. What caught Naruto's attention was the large sealing scroll strapped across her back. If her gear was anything to go by, Naruto deduced that she was a weapons expert.

While a noble art to study, if one overstudied in it then they would be in trouble should someone be able to counteract their weapons. The main weakness with throwing weapons was that should a specialist in them come across a Fuuton (Wind-Release) user then their weapons would be rendered useless. Something told Naruto that this girl (Tenten he believed her name was) had never come across a Fuuton user before, and he could tell she was overconfident in her own skills. Granted, she wasn't as arrogant as Anko Mitarashi, but the overconfidence was still there.

Mizuki on the other hand was someone Naruto could barely tolerate. Sure he played the part of the kind instructor, but whenever he saw or spoke to Naruto there was a glint of resentment in his eyes, as well as a surprising amount of hatred. Naruto speculated that this meant that Mizuki was like all the other lambs of the village that believed him to the the Kyuubi reincarnated in human flesh. Now normally Naruto would simply ignore him like he did with all the others (disregarding this sentiment should they attack him, in which case he'd return that force tenfold), except that occasionally Mizuki had subtly tried to sabotage his work a few times. He failed in his attempts, but it did move Mizuki from the category of "annoyance" to the "strong possibility of becoming food" category.

Once the group of potential examinees was gathered in a group around Mizuki and his assistant, (a noticeably larger group than the one for poisons) the silver-haired instructor proceeded to lead them outside to one of the training fields set up with training dummies and various targets hanging from branches or marked on other dummies.

"Alright students," Mizuki told them cheerfully. "For those of you who deemed it necessary to be here, I thank you. Using weapons is a skill that almost every shinobi will use at least once in their lifetime, so it makes sense for you to learn how to actually use them, be it throwing weapons or melee weapons. So here's how this exam is going to work."

Mizuki pulled the large fuma shuriken from the harness on his back and stabbed one of the points into the ground.

"The exam is divided into three stages. The first stage is for you to show what weapons you plan to use in your shinobi career, be it kunai or katana. The second stage is for you to show that you can actually use the weapon without harming yourself, and that you know a possible style for them if you are using a melee weapon. The third stage will be a spar between your fellow students, and at that point it is to show that you can use the weapons in actual combat. Understand? Good. Now I'll read off your name, when I call it you will start with the first stage."

Mizuki ran through the list of names, with each student giving a rudimentary explanation of their chosen weapons as they went, before finally coming to Naruto. No one except Naruto noticed the slight twitch in Mizuki's kindly smile as he read Naruto's name.

Disregarding that small reaction of Mizuki's, Naruto walked up before the class and turned to face them. Reaching to his leg pouch, Naruto pulled out a much different type of kunai than what they were used to seeing.

Instead of the usual prism-like blade with a dark greyish-black hue, Naruto's kunai seemed sleeker. It's blade was still triangular, but unlike the standard kunai it was a flat blade, and only the center of the blade was black while the razor-sharp edges were silver.

Naruto stuck his finger through the ring at the end of the hilt and spun the blade around in a circle before catching it in his hand.

"What you see in my hand before you is an improved kunai," he remarked. "The blade is sharper and tempered at a much better quality than more commonplace weapons, and the design makes it so that the kunai moves faster through the air and has less 'lag' if you will, from the wind pushing against it in flight." Naruto's toothy grin reappeared. "Not only that, but they are easily concealed and you can stab someone with much less resistance than a normal kunai."

Sheathing the blade, Naruto then lifted his left sleeve to reveal the three barrels strapped there.

"A senbon launcher designed to fire multiple needles at once with far greater accuracy than some people are capable of. They can also be loaded with poison, thus coating the senbon with the substance as they are fired."

This statement caused one of the students to turn a faint shade of green, having been one of the ones in the Poisons lab to witness Naruto's "masterpiece" in action. Letting his sleeve fall, Naruto finally lifted his other sleeve to reveal the gauntlet on his right arm.

"This is something more for close combat than my other weapons, as well as a bit of a surprise for them," Naruto said as he flexed his wrist, unsheathing the blade from the top of the gauntlet. "Designed for prolonged close combat, as well as saving on stamina as you don't actually have to hold the weapon yourself."

Naruto released the catch by flexing his wrist again, sheathing the blade, before giving a mocking nod of the head to Mizuki. The teacher grimaced slightly, before switching back to his usual "kindly teacher" persona. Naruto proceeded to walk to the back of the group and stand there with arms crossed and a bored expression on his face.

After the last couple of students explained their weapons, Mizuki then began calling names for students to showcase their skills on the training dummies. Most were average, though some showed better-than-average skills with either kunai or a sword of some type. Tenten just sat and watched their attempts with a bit of annoyance at the sight of some of the less-than-stellar scores of some of the prospective "kunoichi" of this year's class. Naruto simply ignored them in favor of conversing with the spirit residing within his body, though not the one resembling a fox.

Not that they really had much to talk about, other than the Walrider's obsession with wanting him to just go ahead and kill and eat Mizuki right in front of everyone. Naruto calmly pointed out that if they did that, Konoha would put two and two together that he was the serial killer plaguing them for the past three years. So at the moment this wasn't an option, much to the spirit's ire.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Mizuki called, barely keeping the kind mask up as he spoke.

Naruto smiled before walking up once more in front of the group of students. Eyeing the cloth dummy disdainfully, Naruto stood facing it as he palmed several of his unique kunai in one hand while taking three senbon in the other.

Rearing back his hand, he lashed out and buried the kunai in various nonlethal positions on the dummy. Hands, feet, and one through the knee. Loading the needles into the launcher on his arm, he pulled back on the cords attached and released. Undeterred, the senbon lodged themselves in the dummy's eye, right as Naruto ran forward with his wrist blade unsheathed. The blade glinted in the light as Naruto slashed to the side with his arm.

The cloth head of the dummy fell to the ground, severed from its wooden neck. Naruto turned and gave one of his smiles before retrieving the weapons lodged in the dummy.

The class was not as surprised to see his brutal methods. This was Naruto after all, the guy who would try and beat someone within an inch of his life for simply not covering his mouth while sneezing near him.

Mizuki eyed the positions where Naruto hit the dummy before sighing and recording full marks. Regardless of Naruto's… status, Mizuki couldn't deny that the brat had skill after all. Though it was still only a nonmoving dummy. When the third stage of the exam came, hopefully Naruto wouldn't perform so well.

Moving back to his usual position at the back of the group, Naruto's gaze shifted from each of his "peers." Given how Mizuki stated that the third stage was about actual combat, the only logical conclusion was that the students were going to spar against one another. Naruto fought the urge to groan.

The only problem with this conclusion was that Naruto could easily defeat any of the students here with little to no trouble.

His eyes flitted to the teaching assistant, Tenten. Perhaps he might get to face her? That might prove to be a little more fun than fighting children after all. After all, she was a full-fledged shinobi. She had to be skilled in something at least, even if it was only throwing weapons.

After the last students had finished throwing or swinging around a blade, Mizuki then took them to the center of the field. He then proceeded to pass out slips of paper with the numbers 1 or 2 on them, alternating along the line until each student held a slip.

"Alright, everyone have their slips? Good. Go find someone with a different number from you. That person will be your sparring partner for the third stage of this exam."

Immediately everyone scrambled to find a partner, or rather a partner that wasn't Naruto Uzumaki. Fortunately for them, there was an odd number of students and thus Naruto was left without a partner. He glanced at the multiple pairs and scoffed.

"Cowards."

Mizuki chuckled for a second. "Well, without a partner, I'm not sure how exactly you're going to be able to complete this part of the exam Naruto," he remarked.

Naruto smirked. "You think so?" he retorted. "I still see one other person left to fight."

With that he gestured to Tenten, who raised an eyebrow in response.

"Really?" she drawled. "You think you can take me on?"

"I don't think," Naruto replied with a gum-baring grin. "I know I can."

Mizuki watched the back-and-forth argument before caving in.

"Alright Naruto, you can fight Tenten. Though your match will be last in the list."

Naruto waved a hand dismissively before moving to stand by a tree and watch the following fights, hoping to at least see some blood be spilled. His wish would not be granted.

In their haste to make sure that Naruto wasn't their partner, most of the students paired up with their friends without realizing that they would have to fight said friend. With that in mind, most of them tried to not cause any serious injuries, much to Naruto's annoyance. Still, despite that, some of the prospective shinobi seemed reasonably capable to survive in a short fight. Granted they'd probably be horribly injured, but they'd survive.

Finally it was time for Naruto's spar against Tenten. The two walked forward and stood across from one another. (The other students backed away a couple feet, just in case) Mizuki raised his hand in the air before chopping downward. He then backed away himself.

Tenten smirked as she took a fistful of kunai and got into a standard throwing stance. Naruto relaxed slightly as he brushed a couple stray hairs out of his face and slicked them back.

Tenten lunged forward, flinging the knives right at Naruto. Naruto smiled as he pulled out one of his own kunai and batted the blades aside. Sheathing the kunai, he loaded his senbon launchers and launched a trio of needles right at her.

She blocked them as well before unrolling one of her smaller scrolls. Tenten quickly began summoning weapons and throwing them at her opponent. Naruto responded by simply reloading and firing senbon, aiming carefully to disrupt multiple weapons with a single shot. Upon realizing the ineffectiveness of her barrage, Tenten quickly stopped. Naruto glanced around and looked at the discarded weapons, tutting softly.

The bun-haired girl's face contorted in anger as she whipped out another scroll and stubbornly resumed her onslaught of sharp implements.

Naruto smiled widely as he began jumping from side to side, dodging the various weaponry flying about, almost seeming to flash in and out of existence as he moved between the moving steel. Inevitably the storage scroll in Tenten's hands ran out of weapons, and the rain of metal finally ceased. Tenten exhaled with a hint of fatigue, growling angrily. Naruto sighed again at the sight of weaponry all around him, his smile fading for a second. He turned and grinned widely at Tenten, gums exposed once more.

"Is that all you can do? Throw things and waste resources?"

Tenten gritted her teeth as her eyes hardened in anger. She whipped out two more scrolls and unraveled them, flipping through handseals. Naruto raised an eyebrow as she looked back up.

"Soshoryu! (Twin Rising Dragons)"

The two scrolls exploded into smoke shaped like twin spiraling dragons, with Tenten spiraling up in between them. Mizuki's eyes widened when he heard the technique name.

"Tenten! That technique is too dangerous for a simple spar! Call it off!"

Tenten ignored Mizuki as she unsealed a kunai in each hand, before flinging them at Naruto. She continued unsealing and throwing at a rather impressive rate, as the rain of metal began once more.

Naruto chuckled as he grabbed both kunai out of the air and flung them back at their original wielder. He began flashing in and out of existence once more, catching weaponry and flinging them back at their former user. Granted he wasn't able to throw all of them, but it was still enough to seriously damage her.

Eventually, she did run out of weapons, only for Naruto to whip out one of his unique kunai and fling it right at her. Unable to comprehend the speed, the blade impaled her right in the stomach.

Tenten's eyes widened as she coughed blood and fell crashing to the ground, right in front of her unscathed opponent. Kneeling beside her, he reached down and pulled out his kunai before wiping it off on one of her empty scrolls. Glancing around at the endless amount of weaponry littering the ground, he sighed before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her up.

"Look at all this waste of iron and steel," he said in her ear, yet still loud enough for the rest of the class to hear. "You know this could have all gone for something necessary in the village. Building supplies for housing, plumbing for clean water, and countless other possibilities. Yet instead, it is here being wasted by a pathetic girl who can't even hit her target."

Naruto pulled his hand back, Tenten's hair still clutched in his fingers, before slamming her face down in the dirt hard enough for the ground to crack around the impact area.

"Disgraceful! A waste of space in our military and nothing more!" he yelled viciously.

Naruto stood and walked away, smile gone from his face as he dusted himself off. Mizuki eyed Naruto's retreating form warily. He sighed and marked down Naruto's results, while also making a smaller note beside them to get Naruto some form of psychiatrist should he be made a Genin. Because if he was this brutal without using the fox, how dangerous would he be when he actually tapped into an endless reservoir of hatred and anger?

Naruto simply ignored the instructor and his "peers" in favor of returning to Iruka's classroom to finish his remaining exams before the final spars of the day.

* * *

With the "elective" exams all finished, the students had all gathered at the back of the schoolyard, where a ring had been set up in rope and stones. Everyone stood in groups, waiting for Iruka's instructions. Naruto simply debated who he would either have the fortune (or misfortune, depending on who it was) of sparring with.

Iruka returned with a stack of slips of paper, much to Naruto's annoyance. Repetitiveness was not something that should be encouraged in the shinobi world. It made you lazy. Predictable. Stagnate.

"In my hands are slips of paper with numbers on them," Iruka said. "There are two of each number. You will take a number, and whoever has the matching number will be your partner for the spar."

Iruka then walked around and passed each slip out. Naruto glanced at his, bearing a number "7." He looked around, eyes peeled for another "7" so he could at least scope out his opponent. Naruto's expression soured when he saw who had the matching number.

Hinata seemed to realize this, and she turned bright red and began shivering slightly. Naruto's lip curled in disgust as he sighed. It seemed that this spar would be rather boring, just like before with the girl who had a habit of wasting weapons.

Iruka then began calling numbers, bringing the pairs up for their spars. He also insisted on them performing that odd gesture of "respect" that involved the pair interlocking two fingers with that of their opponent. Naruto never really understood it, but then again, he never really cared enough to understand.

The fights had mixed results, some entertaining while some were downright uninteresting. Shikamaru Nara proceeded to forfeit against his friend Choji Akimichi, citing the spar as "a drag" before walking over to a tree to stare at the clouds. Kiba Inuzuka tried his usual head-on assault against Shino Aburame, only for that to fail when the Aburame heir unleashed his hive of insects. Kiba did last longer than most would against an Aburame, though that was mainly attributed to his proficiency in Taijutsu. The fight between Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno started off slightly promising, before devolving into a full on brawl after they got into an argument over Sasuke Uchiha. Any other students' fights were simply either devoid of anything entertaining, or were over so quickly you could blink and miss it. Sasuke Uchiha's was one such fight, over in a single move.

From what little body language Sasuke was giving off, Naruto could tell he was both pleased to have easily defeated his sparring partner, but annoyed that it was over so quickly.

"You needn't be angry over the simple battle Uchiha," Naruto said with a smile. "After all, some people just don't have the skills necessary to make it. Your opponent was one such person."

Sasuke nodded. "Indeed." He turned to Naruto, ignoring the spar going on in front of them. "You know, I would have much rather fought you Uzumaki. At least you can keep up with me," he remarked with a smirk.

Naruto chuckled. "Such is the curse of geniuses such as ourselves, eh Uchiha? Always having the skills and the ability to acquire knowledge to hone ourselves, but having few who can actually challenge us." He sighed as he brushed back a couple stray hairs. "It can get quite boring at times."

"A fight between us though, that would have been a much better spectacle than what we have in front of us right now," Sasuke replied, eyeing the spar with disinterest.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata, you're up!" Iruka called.

Naruto grinned widely. "Look's like it's my time to be bored then."

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's shoulder for a second. Naruto turned and raised an eyebrow. Sasuke jerked a head at Hinata.

"She may be timid and kind-hearted, but she's still a Hyuuga," Sasuke told him. "Don't underestimate her if she can use the Juken."

Naruto chuckled. "She might be able to use that style," he replied. "But I still have the upper hand."

Sasuke shrugged and let go of his semi-rival's shoulder. Naruto strode forward to stand in the ring, smile wide and gums exposed. Hinata blushed a bit, but kept it under control (and didn't faint) as she bowed respectfully for a moment. Naruto eyed her before giving a small inclination of the head.

"Alright you two, you know the drill. Lock fingers," Iruka instructed.

Hinata quickly extended her index and middle finger towards Naruto. Naruto glanced at the offending digits with a faint expression similar to that of one looking at a rather irritating insect, before giving in and (unwillingly) locking fingers with her.

After removing his fingers, Naruto stepped back a few paces. Hinata looked at him before getting into a shaky Juken stance.

" _Well, seems Uchiha was right. She does know some form of_ _Juken_ _. Still, the style seems too rigid for her. Like she can't use it properly or something."_

"Begin!"

Hinata raised her hands to prepare an attack, only to stop as Naruto scoffed. She stood and waited for a moment as Naruto stayed perfectly still.

"Give up."

Hinata's eyes widened as she heard the words coming from her crush's mouth, his smile gone and replaced with a cold frown.

"W-what?"

Naruto sneered at her. "Were you not paying attention? I said give up. You don't stand a chance."

Hinata gulped before shaking her head in defiance.

"I can't. I-I'm a Hyuuga, and Hyuuga's n-never back down-"

"Yet I don't see a Hyuuga before me, now do I?" Naruto retorted. "Hyuuga's are arrogant, self-absorbed, and overall seem to think the village means nothing to them except when it benefits them in some way. You don't act as such, so you aren't a Hyuuga." He gestured to her current stance. "You seem to know the basics of the Juken but that seems to be it. Your stance is rigid, your form weak. You don't have the power to actually perform those techniques,so therefore your skills won't be enough to defeat me."

"I can't give up though," she stubbornly replied. "I-I have a dream-"

"A dream?" Naruto repeated before bursting into loud mocking laughter. "A dream! And what might that be? To abolish the Caged Bird Seal? To unite the two houses of the Hyuuga? Don't make me laugh!"

Hinata's eyes widened as Naruto's grin returned with full force, a mad kind of glee apparent in his eyes.

"The Hyuuga have been the way they are for years, and that's how they've remained strong! They mark the weak, they take pride in their skills, and they never back down. The same could be said of the late Uchiha clan. They were strong, took pride in their skills, and they took whatever was necessary via their bloodline in order to succeed."

Sasuke, who had been a little annoyed when Naruto mentioned respecting the Hyuuga, perked up a bit when Naruto mentioned the Uchiha. A small smirk formed on his face, as Naruto's words restored a bit of pride in his deceased clan.

"There's also the fact that you don't have the power to back up that dream of yours," Naruto continued. "You're soft, kind-hearted, and you care far too much for a family that would cast you aside should you prove to be a disgrace to the name of Hyuuga. That's not being a better person, that's being foolish. So like I said, give up-"

At that moment Naruto darted to the side to avoid a surprisingly fierce strike from Hinata. Her teeth were clenched, and tears were streaming from her eyes. Letting out a yell of rage, she began striking as fast and hard as she possibly could. Naruto once more began blurring in and out of sight to avoid each strike, his grin never leaving his face.

"Now that's more like it!"

Hinata spun towards him, fingers blazing with chakra as she kept attempting to close his tenketsu and end the match before he could pull out one of his many tricks. Activating her Byakugan she leapt towards him. Naruto, recognizing the stance, yanked a kunai out of his pouch and held it in a reverse grip. Veins bulging around her eyes, Hinata then struck with the start of her technique.

"2 palms!" Dodged.

"4 palms!" Three dodged, one blocked via kunai.

"8 palms!" Six dodged, one blocked, one missed.

"16 palms!" Fourteen dodged, two blocked, two missed.

Seething that her attacks were not doing anything to him, Hinata rolled to the side and came up behind him. Naruto grinned and returned the kunai to his pouch.

"Hakke Sanjuni Sho! (Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms)"

Naruto's only response was to dodge each of the final strikes, much to Hinata's horror, before blurring out of sight and reappearing behind her.

"Was that your best?" Naruto asked, almost bored.

He tilted his head to look back at Sasuke with a smirk.

"What was that you said about being careful of the Juken?" he said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just some friendly advice, alright Uzumaki? I made an assumption, I was wrong. You happy?"

"Very much so," Naruto replied happily before lashing out with his foot and kicking Hinata right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

Grabbing her by the arm, Naruto roughly hauled her to her feet and tossed her aside. Hinata staggered for a second, then charged at him with another Juken strike. Naruto simply flexed his wrist to unsheath his wrist blade, then raised it to block the attack.

Moving his hand into a position similar to one someone would use for a chop, Naruto jabbed Hinata in the throat. Hinata coughed and hacked as she frantically tried to breathe. Naruto stared dispassionately at her before backhanding her to the ground, into blissful unconsciousness.

He tutted softly before sheathing his blade. Iruka ran over to check on Hinata, mostly if she was still alive, before looking at Naruto.

"Winner by knockout, Uzumaki Naruto."

Most of the class was indifferent, and some were even resigned to this outcome. The only one who seemed somewhat pleased that Naruto beat Hinata was Sasuke. On the other hand, there was one other who was not happy with this turn of events whatsoever.

"Hold up! I want to challenge this bastard, right here, right now!"

Iruka turned to see Kiba Inuzuka staring at Naruto with barely contained fury, his canines showing as the boy growled angrily. Naruto himself turned to face Kiba as a mocking smirk formed.

"Oh? And why should I lower myself to fighting a _mutt_ as of right now?"

"Simple. I've got a score to settle with you," Kiba retorted.

"Kiba, you only just woke up after Shino beat you," Iruka told him. "You really shouldn't be in another spar until your chakra has fully returned."

"So what!? I gotta do this, on Hinata's honor!"

Naruto started laughing when he heard this. He glanced at the prone form of Hinata before looking back at his "challenger."

"Her honor?" he replied. "Need I remind you that she lost. End of story. The strong defeated the weak, and it will show on her final grade. Nothing you do could change that, just like if you just happen to beat me your own score will not change." Naruto then proceeded to turn and move to walk away.

Kiba growled angrily before smirking. "So you're saying you're not going to fight me cause you're afraid to lose?"

"I never said that."

"But you implied it," Kiba crowed triumphantly. "You may have been willing to fight Hinata because you knew you could beat her, but you won't fight me because you're unsure. That makes you a coward Uzumaki."

Naruto stopped and turned back to face Kiba.

"Maybe I am a coward," he remarked. "After all, I do like the idea of staying alive compared to recklessly charging in and dying for no reason. That's why we as humans have the 'fight or flight' response. It tells us whether or not we should fight or flee, and thus one who is seen as a coward for fleeing is actually simply trying to preserve his or her own life. And if the flight response is never seen, then that simply proves that the being in question is too moronic to realize it is going to die. So in a way, being a coward isn't so bad." He grinned maliciously. "Perhaps you should try it sometime Inuzuka. It might actually give you some brain cells to fire up in that empty head of yours."

Howling in fury, Kiba lunged forward on all fours, ignoring Iruka's alarmed shouting and Akamaru barking frantically. Naruto's grin widened as he jumped over the charging Inuzuka, then he landed feet first on Kiba's back.

Leaping off of Kiba, Naruto stood nonchalant as the feral boy staggered to his feet. Snarling, Kiba leapt into the air and began to spin.

"Gatsuuga! (Fang Passing Fang)"

Naruto blinked out of the path of the spiralling vortex, then reappeared a few feet to the left of his original position. Kiba canceled the technique in favor of swiping at the blond with the claws that had grown from his fingernails. Naruto ducked and weaved between the attacks, the grin never leaving his face.

"My my, what an angry little mongrel you are," he remarked. "You know what they say about mad dogs. They have to be put down!"

Naruto slammed a fist into Kiba's face, sending the Inuzuka skidding. Kiba quickly recovered and shot forward again, failing to notice what was clutched in Naruto's other fist. In a single sweeping motion, the handful of sand flung across Kiba's eyes, causing the boy to howl in agony as he tried frantically to get it out.

His blond opponent proceeded to grab Kiba by the shoulders and deliver several knees to the gut before flipping him over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground. As Kiba groaned and tried to get up, Naruto kicked his head back down. Hard.

Dusting himself off, Naruto shook his head at the unconscious Inuzuka. Turning to face the dumbstruck Iruka with a smile on his face.

"Well, since I seem to have won two matches," Naruto said. "Do you think I can get extra credit?"

Placeholder for line

Given that Naruto had beaten two opponents, (and thoroughly made sure the school was terrified of him) Iruka told that he was free to leave and that the exam results would be posted the day after tomorrow.

Upon reaching his apartment, the Walrider phased out of Naruto's body as Naruto walked over to the fridge and inspected his meat drawer once more.

"Well, no use putting this off." He turned to face the Walrider. "We'll go hunting tonight."

The Walrider nodded in agreement. Naruto closed the fridge and walked over to his armchair. Sitting down, he sighed, put his hands behind his head, and simply relaxed for a few minutes.

This relaxation was broken when a thought crossed Naruto's mind. He frowned for a moment, stood up and looked at the Walrider.

"I need you to go out and locate Brother Sum. Inform him that we need to meet again soon."

The spirit hissed in response before darting out the window as a cloud of formless vapor. Naruto sighed and sat back down. For some odd reason he just felt… empty. Perhaps it was the absence of the Walrider, but it just felt odd whenever the spirit left to do his bidding at times. When Naruto was younger it wasn't as bad, but now it was noticeable. Almost like a void…

" _ **Naruto…"**_

That, and the fact that whenever the Walrider left him the fox was able to speak with him was an annoying side effect.

Blocking out the chakra composed entity, Naruto stood and walked over to the window. Gazing out over the village, he sighed once more and shook his head. He idly wondered what (or rather, who) he might be having for dinner tonight.

His thoughts were interrupted though by a flicker of movement off in the distance. Squinting at the moving object, he was rather shocked and a little intrigued at what appeared to be a shinobi with the Sacred Scroll of Sealing strapped to his back. A shinobi with shoulder-length silver hair.

Naruto's signature smile returned. Mizuki had finally slipped up. And as promised to himself, when someone in the "strong possibility of becoming food" category slipped up and let down their guard, he would strike. Placing a hand on the side of his head he quickly sent out a mental pulse to the Walrider.

The spirit just happened to have finished organizing a meeting with Brother Sum, and was on the way back.

" _Walrider, Mizuki's let his guard down. Tail him and keep me updated on his location. I'll meet you there."_

A shriek of triumph was heard between their link as the Walrider sped off in search of their current target. The hunt was on.

* * *

On the rooftops, a hooded figure stood keeping watch, a single Sharingan eye homing in on the fast-moving spirit.

"So, the Walrider comes out to play," the figure remarked. "Guess Zetsu was right after all."

The figure turned to gaze over at the apartment of one Naruto Uzumaki, right as Naruto scaled the roof and took off in the same direction of the Walrider.

"And there he goes," she mused. "Perhaps I'll wait for him back at that apartment, see if we can have a little chat…"

* * *

Mizuki ran through the forests on the outskirts of Konoha, a confident smile on his face as he went. After all, why wouldn't he be confident? He had successfully managed to steal the Sacred Scroll of Sealing, something no one else had managed to do in the history of the village.

A twig snapped, instantly causing Mizuki to jerk his head to look where the sound came from. Nothing happened. Mizuki shook his head and kept moving, trying his best to keep up the air of confidence he had before.

Yet there was something off about the area he was in. Almost like he was being watched, or even followed.

He wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but at one point he thought he saw the shadow of a humanoid figure on a tree. Upon turning around however, there was no one in sight. Just a faint hissing noise emanating around him.

Mizuki swallowed nervously, adjusting the scroll on his back as he kept moving onward. He had to get out of Konoha anyways. It wouldn't do any good to keep her waiting. Especially if she was in a bad mood. The thoughts of the power she could give him kept Mizuki going at this point, even restoring a portion of his lost confidence.

This confidence was tested once more when a harrowing cry of laughter, filled with malice and darkness echoed throughout the forest. Composed of thousands of souls and voices, it sounded like the embodiment of evil and corruption. Mizuki flinched and began frantically looking around, searching for the source of this dark and horrifying sound. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something. A dark faceless figure, half-formed of shadowy vapor. He saw it for only the briefest of seconds before it dissipated into smoke and vanished.

The laughter rang out once more, and Mizuki spotted the creature to his left. Again, it dissipated into nothingness, and the process began anew.

Now on the verge of panic, Mizuki reached to his back and pulled out one of his fuma shurikens. Sweat began to bead and run down his face as his eyes darted from side to side, hoping to catch at least one more glimpse of this creature before it killed him. The laughter stopped.

Seconds passed, before the figure slowly formed once more out of the shadowy vapor. Mizuki swallowed in fear.

"What are you? What the hell are you!?"

The spirit let out one last shriek of laughter before saying one final word.

 _ **Walrider.**_

There was a rustling in the canopy above him. Then Mizuki heard a familiar sound. The sound of a click, then the smooth sound of a blade unsheathing. A sound that he himself had heard just earlier this afternoon.

Mizuki looked up just in time to see Naruto leaping from the canopy, wrist blade unsheathed, and a smile of mad glee on his face. In that moment, he felt shock and fear. Then there was a sharp pain, and then the darkness of oblivion for Mizuki.

* * *

The gleaming blade stabbed right into Mizuki's spinal column, right at the base of the neck, bringing the silver-haired Chunin down with Naruto on his back. Naruto twisted the blade sharply, severing the spinal cord and most of the neck, leaving the head hanging literally by a thread or two of sinew and fragments of the spinal cord. Nodding at the Walrider, Naruto felt the spirit rejoin his body, regaining that feeling of being whole once more.

Naruto looked down at the corpse dispassionately before glancing down at himself. Thankfully he had remembered the plastic suit, otherwise the bloodstains would take forever to wash out.

Carefully turning the body, he removed the Sacred Scroll, eyeing it with interest. Unrolling it, he glanced down and began to read.

"Kage Bunshin? Interesting," he murmured.

Reaching into one of his pouches, he removed a scroll and began writing down the details of the jutsu. Upon his completion, he glanced back at the Sacred Scroll. He then looked around warily. Naruto called forth the Walrider once more, instructing it to patrol around him and let him know if someone was coming close. After the spirit left, Naruto unrolled the Scroll even more and began copying as fast as he could.

After finishing his copying, Naruto rolled the scroll back up and set it against the tree. Pulling out a small sealing scroll, he unrolled it and prepared the seal. Glancing back at Mizuki, he cut the head of the rest of the way and sealed the headless corpse in the scroll. He then pulled out a scalpel and began cutting the back of the skull open to remove the brain. Once extracted, the brain was then sealed in another seal next to the corpse.

At that moment the Walrider informed Naruto that a large group of shinobi were nearby, but not in the forest yet. Naruto smirked as he began finishing his last touches to the area. It would be a sight to see indeed.

* * *

By the time the ANBU finally arrived in the clearing where Mizuki's scent was last located, Inu was by this point almost ready to give up. The sight that awaited him was not what he was expecting. Go ahead.

Blood littered the forest floor, fresh blood that Pakkun quickly identified as Mizuki's. Several trees had blood painted on them in the form of an arrow, all aiming at a single spot. Stabbed into the ground at said spot was a fuma shuriken, and impaled on the top point was the severed head of Mizuki. His face was contorted into an expression of horror, just like the rest of the victims of Konoha's resident killer. His eyes were positioned upwards, and they showed nothing except pure, abject terror. What caught Inu's gaze though was not just the fear on his face but the fact that a portion of his face appeared to have been… bitten off. Bitten off, then cauterized in a manner that sealed the wound, yet left it clear how it was caused.

"Taichō, you might want to take a look at this."

Inu stood up and walked over to where Tenzo was standing, the Sacred Scroll now strapped to his back.

"Check out the writing. We've found it on every tree with an arrow so far."

Inu leaned down and peered at the carefully written message. As he got closer, the metallic scent informed him that it was also blood.

" _And when I come, I will bring forth to the world righteous judgement to the heathens who oppose me_ ," Inu read aloud.

"So our serial killer is a priest then?" an ANBU in a Rabbit mask asked.

"Not sure, but we can definitely understand one thing," Inu remarked. "Based on that bite, we know that our killer isn't just doing this for sport."

"Are you saying-"

"Yes. Our killer is a cannibal. And to make matter's worse, he's stepping up his game."

"What do you mean Taichō?"

Inu sighed. "He attacked someone who had the Sacred Scroll of Seals. A Chunin no less. Before today, he only hunted civilians or the odd Genin and weaker Chunin. But now he's after stronger game. Which means that this is only going to get worse from here on out now that he has the skill and the confidence to go after stronger shinobi."

The ANBU in the Rabbit mask looked at the head for a second before turning back to Inu.

"Well, for all the trouble he's gone through, I guess we have to call him something at this rate."

"The Voracious," Tenzo remarked. "That's what he is. The Voracious."

* * *

At the same time, Naruto had walked into his apartment and locked the door. Unzipping the plastic suit, he carefully disposed of it in one of his trash cans. He'd take it out tomorrow, but for now he had meat to prepare for storage.

Striding into the kitchen, he prepared to unseal the corpse when he heard something that he had never expected to hear. A voice that didn't belong to the Walrider.

"Uzumaki Naruto," a deep yet feminine voice called from his sitting room. "Konoha's resident cannibalistic serial killer, psychopath, and host to both the Kyuubi no Kitsune and the Walrider of legend."

Naruto turned to face the strange woman, outwardly calm yet panicking on the inside. " _Who is this woman? How did she get in here!? It should be impossible with all the security I put in place! I knew I should have been more attentive, but no I failed at keeping up my security and now my home is no longer impenetrable. This is impossible!_ " Naruto exhaled slowly, still keeping a close eye on the woman.

"Aren't you going to reply? It's rude to keep a woman waiting you know."

Naruto exhaled once more. " _It doesn't matter. I'll kill her, dispose of the evidence via incinerator, and then improve my security tenfold."_

Carefully eyeing the woman, Naruto slipped a few of his kunai into his sleeve and into his palm, loading his senbon launcher as his hands moved briefly behind his back.

"You're not very talkative are you?" she remarked dryly.

Naruto whipped his arm out, flinging the kunai before pulling up the sleeve on his left arm revealing his senbon launcher and firing several poisoned senbon right at the woman. Much to his shock, the weapons simply phased through her, much like with the Walrider earlier that morning.

"Nice reflexes," she remarked, "But what good are reflexes if you can't-"

Naruto proceeded to throw another kunai before diving to one of the lower cupboards and grabbing one of his many hidden gas masks along with a small remote controller. Putting it on, he gazed at the intruder and pressed one of the buttons on the remote.

A pale green gas began pouring out of AC units, flooding the room. As the gas began to fill the room, the woman began to chuckle as Naruto moved towards another cupboard.

"Tear gas Naruto? Nice try, but I've got an ace for something like that."

A swirling vortex appeared from her one visible eyehole on her mask, sucking up the gas into a small wormhole. Soon the room was cleared of gas, only for the intruder to spot Naruto standing there confidently with another remote in hand. The woman raised an eyebrow behind her mask as Naruto grinned madly.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" she drawled.

Naruto's grin expanded, as one eye opened wider while the other narrowed considerably.

"Yes, very much so in fact. This remote is linked to hundreds of powerful bombs lined throughout the building as well as the buildings directly surrounding it and the basement levels. One press of a button and we'll both be consumed in the incendiary blast of my holy fire, and there'll be no escape for you or I!"

With that, Naruto burst into insane bouts of laughter, cackling wildly while the woman simply stood there impassively. Then she did something that actually caused him to stop laughing from the sheer shock of it all.

She wasn't pleading or begging for her life. She wasn't running as far as she could to escape the coming onslaught of fire and brimstone. No, she was clapping.

"I must admit, you are indeed an interesting one Uzumaki Naruto. I can sense the bombs lining this building and the surrounding ones so I know you're not bluffing. So willing to lose yourself to fire just to keep your secret. I respect that."

Naruto was stunned. She knew this whole time? Was this a test of some sort? To see how far he'd go? But from who? So many possibilities.

"Who are you?" he asked warily.

The woman lowered her hood, revealing long black hair that spiked at the ends of her bangs and ponytail and an orange mask with a single eyehole, with the entire mask appearing to be a spiral emanating from the eyehole. From within said hole, a single Sharingan blazed.

"My name is Uchiha Madoka, and I have something of an offer to discuss with you Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Staring at the woman for a few seconds, he glanced at the remote in his hand and set it down on the counter.

"I'm listening…"

 **End Chapter**

 **Phantom's Notes: Well, finally got that chapter finished! I'll be honest, there were times when I thought we were never going to get this done, but here it is! I hope you guys have enjoyed the chapter, and again I am sorry for my updating schedule being terrible. But at least I finally got this chapter up, and what better time than around Christmas eh? Or whatever you celebrate… anyways, happy holidays from me, and I'll see you in the next chapter for The Witch-King (which will most likely be the next one updated) See ya on the flip side!**

 **Morgoth's Notes: Hello, and happy Holidays. This project of ours has been an extensive one, having been working on it since November. But now that it's complete we can move on to our other stories. But I must warn you, in the coming chapters there will be things that can be considered controversial such as the last uniform we mentioned in Naruto's closet (Props to anyone who figures out what that is). But all is for the greater good, and will help this story rise to the top. Please review (descriptively and grammatically correct) about what you thought of the chapter, as we worked quite hard on this. But we wish you luck in continuing reading this dark story, and remember. Continue on the sacred path, for the Great Journey Awaits.**

 **Morgoth: Oh a little info update, if you haven't figured it out, Naruto is based off of multiple characters including Enrico Maxwell, Charles zi Britannia, Hannibal Lecter, Sigma, Sosuke Aizen, The High Prophet of Truth, and Dr. Richard Trager.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Axes and Gūru

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Phantom- Well, our planned out update schedule had to be revised, given that the two of us ended up deciding to work on this chapter instead of the next chapter for** _ **The Witch-King Cometh**_ **. Not to worry! We are still going to follow that general schedule, we're just posting this chapter first because it's still on our minds. So for those of you who favor this story, congratulations! You got another update pretty soon after the last! On a side note, updates are definitely going to be scattered once the next college semester starts for me. Reason? I need to focus more on my schoolwork this semester, so I will have very little time to work on new chapters. If we're lucky, we should have this chapter posted before we go back to school, which I will consider quite the achievement.**

 **Morgoth- Bonjour readers, I'm quite excited to get this chapter done and posted with Phantom. I do suggest that you look up the term gūru for reference in your search drive in order to get a better idea of what this chapter will include. I'm sure some of you will be further interested by this. Also I feel that some people questioned why Naruto smiles the way he does, the answer is that he has involuntary muscle spasms that cause him to bare his gums when he smiles.**

 **Phantom- With that said, let's get on with the chapter! Also, I feel we might need to put this in. You know, for legal reasons and all.**

 _ **Disclaimer: Morgoth and I (Phantom) do not own Naruto, or any of the other anime/games/books/media we borrowed inspiration from for the creation of this fan-made piece of literature. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, and the others belong to whoever owns them. Please support the official release.**_

"I'm listening."

The woman claiming to be Madoka Uchiha turned and sat down in Naruto's armchair, gesturing to the opposing chair. Naruto's frown deepened slightly before sitting down. Naruto glanced around the apartment, then gazed back at the masked Uchiha.

"You mentioned a proposition of sorts," he said. "What did you have in mind?"

"I represent a certain organization," Madoka replied. "You may have heard of us? We're called the Akatsuki."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. He had heard of the Akatsuki, even if it was mostly by reputation and complaints from Brother Sum in their meetings. A mercenary group of missing-nin, all of at least S-rank, that simply took jobs for money. They didn't care what it was, be it assassinations or kidnapping. If money was provided, they would deliver to the best of their capable abilities. This often put them into conflict with some of the local crime groups of the Elemental Nations, such as Brother Sum's group, the Axe Gang and the Takarada Syndicate. After all, what use was a criminal underground if a group of less than a dozen S-rank shinobi could offer much better service for generally the same price?

Regardless, this raised the question as to why the Akatsuki were seeking out Naruto? He was only just made an official shinobi, and despite his capable skills he did not have any ranking in the Bingo Book. So why would they scout him out?

Was it his skill at trapping and killing that earned their interest? Or was it one of the entities within him, the fox or the Walrider?

"So why are you talking to me then?" Naruto drawled. "Regardless of my skill, I'm only a Genin. Surely it would look bad for a criminal organization to recruit someone of my ranking now wouldn't it?"

Madoka chuckled. "Ah, but we've been keeping an eye on you Uzumaki Naruto. The infamous serial killer of Konoha, the unknown cannibal. The one who hasn't been caught. And to be perfectly honest, since when has infamy been something that was part of the shinobi way?"

Naruto nodded in response, his wide gum-baring grin apparent on his face. He couldn't deny that making shinobi famous for their deeds or misdeeds made little sense. After all, they were the killers who should lurk in the shadows. Yet so many jutsu relied on being flashy and "in-you-face" that it negated the need for stealth.

Regardless, it was still nice to be recognized for your talents, especially by one as infamous as Madoka Uchiha herself.

"So is that the only reason you came after me? My status as a serial killer? Or was it something more?" he remarked.

Madoka tilted her masked head. Naruto got the feeling that she was smirking behind that mask.

"Well, originally we were keeping an eye on you due to your status as a jinchuriki," she replied. "But after seeing the aftermath of your little hunts, as well as the spirit within you, our interest was piqued even more."

"So you're here for the fox or the Walrider." Naruto narrowed his eyes, grin still on his face. "You can have the fox, but you're not taking the Walrider. He belongs with me."

"And what gives you the right to be his host, hmm?"

"He's mine that's why," Naruto hissed.

Madoka held up her hands in surrender.

"Calm down Naruto-san. I have no intention of taking the Walrider from you." She leaned forward, Sharingan eye blazing from the hole in her mask. "The Kyuubi on the other hand, we will need him at a later date."

"Explain. Is it just the fox? Or is it the other Tailed Beasts as well?" Naruto asked.

Madoka stood and walked over to the window. Gazing out over Konoha for several minutes (much to Naruto's growing annoyance. He had a body to chop up after all, and it needed to go into the fridge before it spoiled) before turning back to her somewhat unwilling host.

"I want to bring peace to this world Naruto-san. And you can help me bring it about."

Naruto froze in shock, shocked enough to make the grin drop from his face. Standing up abruptly, he stared at Madoka.

He began to giggle, then he chuckled. Then he burst into roaring maniacal laughter.

"Peace. Peace! PEACE!"

Naruto couldn't go further as he dissolved into cackling peals of uncontrollable laughter. Madoka simply stood there impassively, tapping her foot on the ground waiting patiently for him to stop laughing.

Eventually once he managed to regain control of himself, Naruto grinned widely with gums bared.

"Why would you want peace? And don't you realize that what might be peace for some won't be peace for others!"

Madoka raised an eyebrow behind her mask. "And what might be seen as peace for you Naruto-san?"

Naruto paused and pondered for a moment.

"What I consider peace?" Naruto's grin got wider, if at all possible. "My peace is an example of what I just said. Peace for me would be hell on earth for others. I get my peace from purging the heathens from this world, be it by my hand or the hand of others. And I get the satisfaction of knowing that after their worthless lives end, they still have a purpose as my meal. You see Madoka-san, the true tragedy is not to die, but to be wasted. And I rarely ever waste perfectly good food."

"I see," Madoka replied. "That explains why you're a cannibal then."

Naruto scoffed. "I'm no cannibal. I simply eat animals that call themselves humans. There's a difference."

"Some might not see it that way Naruto-san."

"But I see it that way, and that's what matters in the end to me."

Madoka shrugged nonchalantly. "Believe what you will. After Project Tsuki no Me is complete, everyone will have the peace they so desire."

One of Naruto's eyebrows quirked in confusion. Everyone will have their version of peace?

"Sounds like Genjutsu to me."

"Exactly."

Naruto was by now thoroughly confused, which was not a frequent occasion for him after meeting the Walrider.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to explain a little more to me about this 'Tsuki no Me' then Madoka-san."

"Ask and you shall receive Naruto-san," she replied. Turning to gaze out the window, looking up at the full moon above, she continued. "Have you ever heard of how the Rikudo Sennin came to be so renowned throughout the world?"

"He created the shinobi system, or at least the beginning of the system long ago. Why?"

Naruto received a chuckle in return. "Yes that is true, but one thing the world forgot is this simple fact. The Rikudo Sennin was a jinchuuriki, but not for just any Tailed Beast. He held the aggregate of all nine Tailed Beasts, the Juubi."

Naruto's eyes widened. The aggregate of all the Tailed Beasts? If all the Beasts were combined in one form…

"You intend to reform this Juubi, don't you?"

Madoka turned back from the window.

"Yes, and I intend to become its jinchuuriki. Once I have done so, I will cast a Genjutsu called Mugen Tsukuyomi (Infinite Moon Reader) using the moon as a medium to put the entire world under a Genjutsu where they will forever see their hearts greatest desire. By doing so, peace will be achieved for each and every person in the world. THAT is Project Tsuki no Me."

Naruto was a bit taken aback by this declaration. Peace through world-wide Genjutsu? Interesting concept, and perfectly achievable compared to other half-baked schemes of "world peace"

"A very intriguing plan," Naruto said, somewhat lost in thought. "And it does solve most of the problems of the world, free will being one of them. Granted, there's still the problem of supplying nourishment to the people locked inside the Genjutsu, but that could probably also be easily achieved by the power of all nine Tailed Beasts. Yes, yes. This could actually work."

Madoka stared at Naruto for a second, having been frozen in shock with his response. "You… y-you agree?"

Naruto grinned, gums exposed once more. "Are you kidding? I think this sounds like an amazing plan!"

Madoka smiled behind her mask. "Well then Naruto-san, can the Akatsuki count you as an ally then?"

After saying that, Madoka lifted her hand and held it out to Naruto. Naruto, grin still on his face, took the offered hand and shook it vigorously.

"I'm honored to have been asked to join Madoka-san."

The two let go of the other's hand, and Madoka walked over to the corner of the room. Turning back to glance at Naruto, she held up a handseal. Naruto only saw it for a second, but he saw a pinwheel-shaped Mangekyou Sharingan in the eyehole of the mask for the briefest of moments.

"We'll meet again soon, Naruto-san," she replied.

With that, she vanished in another spiral in midair originating from her mask's eyehole.

Naruto looked at the empty spot where Madoka Uchiha stood seconds earlier before turning on his heel and walking to the kitchen. Clearing off the table, he covered it in plastic and unrolled his storage scroll. Channelling some chakra, Mizuki's headless corpse appeared on the table with a small puff of smoke. After undressing and wiping down the body with a paper towel, Naruto turned and twisted the dial on his wireless before reaching for his knife rack.

No need to think on it any more. He had meat to carve. And security to update. Space-Time Ninjutsu needed to be factored into the defenses, and the sooner the better. Raising the kitchen utensil, he began to cut into the still warm flesh of the body before him. Blood spurted out of the new wound, right across Naruto's impassive face, his eyes almost seeming to match the drying blood's hue.

All the while, classic orchestral music flowed throughout the apartment as Naruto continued his work.

* * *

While Naruto was restocking his fridge, across the village the Sandaime Hokage was gazing out over Konoha from his office.

As he looked, Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts turned towards the boy he had once seen as a grandson in all but blood. Raising a hand to his pipe, he removed it from his mouth and exhaled a cloud of smoke. The old man sighed and replaced the pipe.

Naruto had changed over the years, of this there was no denying. Once upon a time when he was younger, Naruto looked up to him like a hero. He was Naruto's hero back then, and still thinking about Naruto's vow to become Hokage just like his "gramps" brought a smile to his face. The smile of course would in turn fade whenever he thought more on how Naruto had changed, what he had become.

The boy was unstable, this he could not deny. He had a notorious temper, and a strong sense of pride in himself that very rarely abated. Naruto had taken the hatred of the villagers and returned it back at them with full force. And to be honest, Hiruzen knew not what facilitated the change, but he always suspected it might have been that night years ago when Naruto was attacked in his apartment.

Upon hearing of Naruto's results during the Genin exams, Hiruzen couldn't help but feel shocked at the resigned apathy that welled up when he read the reports. Savagely beating Tenten, tormenting Hinata Hyuuga both physically and psychologically, and then there was Kiba Inuzuka's humiliation at Naruto's hands. Naruto's penchant for violence and sheer brutality was so commonplace, Hiruzen felt sick to his stomach that he was becoming resigned to the boy's methods.

Iruka Umino was almost adamant that Naruto be kept from becoming a Genin, simply for his attitude alone. With his temper and violent tendencies combined with it however, Iruka tried to petition the Sandaime to have Naruto dropped from the Shinobi program altogether.

Unfortunately for Iruka, that wasn't an option for Hiruzen. Naruto was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and thus was a powerful asset to the village. To not use the power of the fox in an emergency would be foolish. Not to mention that if Naruto was banned from becoming a shinobi, he might lash out even harsher at the members of the village, possibly even going so far as to actually beat someone to death.

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. Then again, there was also the problem of Danzo and ROOT attempting to recruit him should he be out of Hiruzen's reach, or in the worst case scenario Naruto might leave the village to join up with another. And since he would be considered a civilian, it wouldn't be possible to mark him as a missing-nin and offer a reward for his capture.

No, Naruto would have to become a shinobi. Hiruzen just needed a way to keep Naruto's temper under control, as well as keep an eye on him. After all, it was no secret that the shinobi populace considered the jinchuuriki as a potential flight risk.

Hiruzen's train of thought was interrupted when he felt the presence of three people behind him, kneeling respectfully.

"You called for us Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen turned to face the three ANBU agents kneeling on the ground. He waved a hand in their direction before sitting down at his desk. The three agents rose from the ground and stood at attention.

"Yes. Thank you for coming so quickly."

One of the ANBU, a woman with purple hair and customized "Oni" mask, stepped forward.

"We assume you have an assignment for us?"

"I do," Hiruzen replied, removing his pipe from his mouth and setting it on his desk. "I'm assigning you three to keep an eye on a potential flight risk."

The second ANBU, another woman except with green hair and an Owl mask, looked at the Hokage.

"Flight risk? We've haven't done many missions of that type before."

"That is true, but this one is a special case. I need the three of you to watch our resident jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki."

The Oni-masked ANBU looked at the Hokage, somewhat stunned.

"How is he a flight risk sir? While aspects of his personality might leave much to be desired, when has he ever shown disloyalty to the village itself?" she asked.

"Hopefully this is nothing more than an old man's paranoia acting up again," Hiruzen replied. "But I want to be absolutely sure before I take necessary action."

The final member of the trio, a blue-haired male in a Wolverine mask, crossed his arms.

"So how exactly are we keeping an eye on him? He usually seems to sense nearby ANBU whenever they're tailing him."

"You won't be tailing him. You'll be posing as his Genin team. Given the odd number of graduating students this year, it would leave Naruto without a team. So the three of you will be posing as two fellow Genin and Jonin instructor."

Raising a finger, he pointed at the Oni-masked ANBU. "You'll be acting as the Jonin instructor for this one Oni." He then gestured to the other two agents. "You two will be acting as the Genin. I want regular reports, and above all else, do not let Naruto know that the three of you are ANBU. I don't want to foster any more distrust in him than what he already has. Understand?"

The trio nodded before vanishing in a Shunshin. Hiruzen sighed and stood up. Turning to gaze out the window once more, his thoughts turned to his deceased successor.

"Oh Minato," he mused. "Am I doing the right thing? Or am I making another huge mistake?"

He received no reply, save the howling of the wind outside his window.

* * *

Several buildings away, the trio of ANBU phased into existence on top of a rooftop. Oni glanced at the other two agents before gesturing to the window. Wordlessly, they slipped into the house. Oni pulled down the shades on the window and locked the door.

"Coast's clear for now."

With a nod, they all removed their ceramic masks. The blue-haired male turned to look at his companions before growling in annoyance.

"Well, what do we do now?"

"Perhaps we should warn Naruto," the purple-haired woman replied.

"How are we supposed to do that Rize? We were ordered to not reveal ourselves as ANBU to Naruto, so we can't tell him!"

The one called Rize sighed. "We'll just have to do the best we can then Ayato. After all, he already knows one of us maskless, right Eto?

"Well yeah, but he doesn't know me as Eto," Eto replied. "He only knows me as Sen Takatsuki."

"That's good enough for now. We'll have to work with what we have, and eventually once we've regained Naruto's trust as ourselves, we'll let him in on our ANBU identities."

Ayato scowled. "And what about the other thing you're forgetting?"

"That will come later. For now, just prepare yourself for acting like Genin for an unspecified amount of time."

Rize replaced her Oni mask and headed to the window.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some cleaning up to do in the forests," Rize remarked. Glancing at her comrades, she continued. "You two should probably feed. It's been a while after all."

With that, she leapt out the window and headed across the rooftops. Ayato glanced at Eto as a menacing smirk formed on his face.

"Well, she's right Eto. We haven't fed in a couple weeks, have we?"

Eto smirked in reply. "Do you even need to ask?"

The pair chuckled darkly as they too leapt out the window and into an alleyway. Once on the ground, they both covered their faces with a mask, though not the same masks they wore as ANBU. Ayato's was black and had a fanged grin upon it, while Eto's appeared to be similar to bandages wrapped around her face. If anyone had seen them at that moment they would have been very surprised to see their eyes. Ayato's eyes, as well as Eto's right eye, now sported a bright crimson iris with pitch black sclera.

* * *

After a rather productive night, in more ways than one, followed by a restful sleep, Naruto was up the next morning with a smile on his face.

Walking over to his kitchen, he had almost put his apron on when he remembered his prior plans for the day. Sighing softly, Naruto folded his apron back up and returned it to the drawer.

After getting dressed (and equipping his usual armaments) Naruto headed to the door and walked outside. Much to Naruto's surprise, there was actually someone standing in his doorway that wasn't an ANBU or member of the Police Force (back when the Uchiha weren't slaughtered and all) to talk to him about beating up one of the poor little lambs of the Leaf.

Standing in front of him was a young woman wearing what appeared to be the stereotypical maid attire, though not the kind used for strange forms of cosplay. This one was actually quite modest. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the woman.

"Can I help you?"

The woman nodded, reaching into one of her pockets and handing Naruto a letter. Eyeing the envelope warily, Naruto slit the top open with a kunai and removed the contents. Scanning the unfolded page, Naruto's eyebrow raised again before returning to its usual position. Folding the letter back up and replacing it in the envelope, Naruto slipped the envelope into one of his pockets and smiled at the woman.

"Tell Tsukiyama-san that I'll be there for lunch," he told her. As she turned to leave he stopped her. "And be sure to tell him I said 'thank you' for the invitation."

The woman smiled, bowed, and walked away. Naruto watched her leave with a bemused smile on his face. Chuckling to himself, he set off on his way to his meeting.

Thankfully for Naruto (or rather, thankfully for the villagers) no one in their right minds planned on attacking him today, be it physically or verbally. Upon hearing that Naruto had successfully become a full-fledged shinobi, most of the civilians were even more wary about pissing him off than they were before. If anything, they were more than happy to give the blond-haired teenager a wide berth when he came near, praying to Kami that nothing they did set him off.

Naruto paid them no mind as he walked, though he did get a small sense of satisfaction when he saw the barely hidden fear on the faces of many of the civilians. It was rather exhilarating to be honest.

Eventually though he slipped off of the main roads and into the alleyways. Not that he could sense any ANBU agents tailing him today, but it never hurt to be careful. Expertly navigating the maze of paths throughout the system of alleys in Konoha, he eventually found himself in the areas of the city where things weren't exactly as "nice and kind" as the main areas of the village.

A couple men in dirty clothes and torn jackets at one point thought the elegantly-dressed blond would be a nice target for a mugging. However after seeing Naruto's harsh blue eyes and gum-bearing grin, they quickly realized that perhaps it wasn't the best idea after all.

Glancing around the block, Naruto eventually found his destination. A small little restaurant sitting out of the way of the main street in this area. As Naruto approached the entrance, he noticed two men dressed in black suits, white dress shirts, and black ties and noticed they were armed with small hatchets. Recognizing the two as Brother Sum's members, he greeted the two men before entering the restaurant, and spotting a man walking toward him. The greeter attempted to set Naruto up with a seat, but Naruto had already spotted where he was going.

"I'm sorry my friend, but I'm with someone over there," Naruto told the man. "I'll find my way over, no need to go through any trouble for me."

The greeter nodded before going back to his station and waiting for the next patron to enter. Naruto on the other hand made his way over to the table and sat down.

"Brother Sum," he greeted.

Brother Sum, ever immaculate with his suit perfect, not a single hair out of place, and a neatly trimmed beard, smiled at the blond.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Brother Sum replied, extending a hand to Naruto. "It's been a while."

Naruto accepted the offered hand before glancing down at the menu.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting very long my friend," Naruto said.

"No worries Uzumaki," Brother Sum said, nonchalantly waving his hand. "I only just got here myself."

Naruto nodded, still perusing the menu. Brother Sum mimicked the action before reaching a decision.

"Have you decided yet Uzumaki?"

"Not quite, but I do have a bit of a taste for Western cuisine, so I imagine I'll get something along those lines."

"Ever the adventurous one, eh Uzumaki?"

"You could say that, though I usually make everything homemade. I have no idea where this place gets their sausages for example."

Brother Sum chuckled heartily.

"You need not worry about the quality of their food," he remarked. "I've been here many times, and they've never disappointed yet. Don't let the outside appearance fool you in that regard."

Naruto chuckled darkly. "Always 'look beneath the underneath,' eh?"

Brother Sum laughed. "Indeed Uzumaki. Indeed."

Naruto glanced around the restaurant for a moment before focusing back on his companion.

"I don't see your 'advisors,'" Naruto remarked. "You lose them somewhere?"

"Not exactly. I simply didn't need them to come with me this time. After all, we're both friends here, ne?"

"Indeed."

At that point a waitress came over to take their orders. Naruto glanced at the menu before turning back to her.

"I'll take the standard Western breakfast. Full course."

After scrawling it down on her notepad, the waitress turned to Brother Sum.

"I'll have the natto and fried egg on rice, with a side of miso soup."

Scribbling on the notepad, the waitress thanked them and took up their menus before heading to the back kitchen. Naruto watched her leave before looking back at Brother Sum.

"I trust you brought me what I mentioned in my message?"

"Of course Uzumaki," Brother Sum replied. "Though next time, perhaps you shouldn't send that spirit. Trust me when I say this. I see that thing at night, I'm liable to shoot and run before figuring out you sent it."

"But then there's always a chance for interception if I chose a more standard method of communication," Naruto retorted. "My friend can't be sensed by normal means, only by doujutsu can he be seen unless he wants to be seen. Thus he avoids the clan homes with doujutsu like the Hyuuga, and the Uchiha are extinct except for Sasuke-san so that's not an issue."

Brother Sum nodded in agreement before reaching down and placing his briefcase on the table. As he input the combination, he glanced up for a moment.

"I will let you in on this my friend," Brother Sum remarked. "It was not easy to get my hands on this information."

Naruto smirked. "But luckily for you, you happen to have your subordinates in opportune places to get such information from time to time."

Brother Sum shrugged. "This is true," he admitted. "But while getting my men into other gangs is one thing, ANBU on the other hand is a completely different story. Especially when you keep in mind how few chakra-users I actually have in my employ, much less those who can actually qualify."

"We make due with what we have Brother Sum," Naruto remarked. "Sometimes we just have to use that which is available to get the job done."

Brother Sum nodded as he unlatched his briefcase and extracted a manila folder and handed it to Naruto. Naruto deftly took it in his hands and unfolded it, glancing at the files within.

"When did your employee acquire this information?"

"Not too long ago. I'd say about a week or so ago, so this is relatively up-to-date. If anything new comes through, I'll have him send it to me. It's not easy to communicate with someone in ANBU though."

Naruto nodded and set the folder down. Brother Sum then pulled out a second folder, one noticeably thicker than the last, and slid it over to Naruto. Naruto opened it and began perusing its contents.

"How recent is this information?"

"Very recent," Brother Sum replied. "My associate was able to relay some of the information in that folder just last night after your spirit friend showed up to give me your message."

Naruto glanced at one of the pages in the folder and raised an eyebrow. "So that's what Gato's been doing behind the scenes of his 'legitimate business,'" he remarked. "We may have to do something about him if his business becomes too much of a problem for us."

"Indeed my friend," Brother Sum agreed. "But enough talk of business for now. It seems our food has arrived, and I am rather famished myself."

Naruto smirked as he replaced the files in their folders and slipped them into his vest. "Indeed. I am also quite famished."

Two plates of food were set in front of them, prompting thanks from both gentlemen. The waitress smiled back at them, winking flirtatiously at Naruto before walking off to pick up another order. Naruto looked down at his plate, an appreciative smile on his face.

"Scrambled eggs with bacon and sausage, served with buttered biscuits and a small fruit salad on the side," he mused. "Standard Western breakfast with a few changes here and there, but all around it looks good."

"It smells appetizing," Brother Sum agreed. "I've never been one for Western food, but if that's just a single example then I might have to try that next time we're here, no?"

Naruto nodded and picked up his fork and knife. Cutting off part of the sausage, he placed it in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully before swallowing.

Exceptional, despite the type of meat used in its making.

* * *

Standing in front of the luxurious estate, Naruto couldn't help but grudgingly respect the Tsukiyama family for managing to acquire such wealth through seemingly legal means.

The estate had beauty, elegance, and absolutely reeked of expensive taste. Naruto approved, and bit back the small sliver of envy that tried to rise up.

Walking up to one of the guards standing at the gate, Naruto held up the invitation as he went, causing the guard to stand down. He nodded at Naruto before opening the gate for him.

Naruto inclined his head in return, never faltering in his stride. A maid came forward towards him, gesturing towards one of the paths leading to the back of the mansion. Naruto politely thanked her and continued on his way, gazing around the grounds and taking in the sights of the Tsukiyama family's exquisite landscaping.

Eventually the path came to an end, and Naruto found himself at a pavilion of sorts, with a table and two chairs set up upon it, with several maids stationed around the edge of the pavilion. And standing there was Shuu Tsukiyama, dressed in a purple suit that matched his bright blue hair perfectly.

Turning, Shuu noticed Naruto and smiled kindly.

" _Bonjour_ Naruto, I'm glad to see you made it here."

Naruto nodded to his host. "Well you went through all the trouble of sending one of your maids to hand deliver that invitation, it would have been very inconsiderate of me to refuse. Besides, I'm not one to turn down a free meal of quality food."

Shuu chuckled. "Indeed. One should never refuse quality food. Please, sit."

Naruto obliged, taking the offered seat. Shuu inhaled deeply, smiling serenely before sitting down opposite the blond. Naruto raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as Shuu had done this many times before.

"So why exactly have you called me here?" Naruto asked. "Most people who want to have lunch with me have some ulterior motive at hand."

Shuu chuckled. " _Non_ Naruto, why would I need a motive to have lunch with an old friend? After all, in all the times I've known you and you've come over, have I ever had some sort of motive behind it?"

Naruto couldn't fault Shuu for that. In all the time he had known the man, Shuu had never had a reason to do anything for him. Well, save one.

"And this has nothing to do with my deceased mother?"

Shuu sighed and gestured for a maid. The woman dutifully came forward and filled a glass with wine.

"I will not deny that Kushina may be a factor in this, but you are still part of my _famiglia_ Naruto. You're a Tsukiyama in all but blood."

Shuu took a sip of his wine and set the glass back down. He nodded towards another maid, who bowed and headed off towards the house. Naruto watched the action and raised an eyebrow.

"Just checking to see when lunch will be ready," Shuu replied. "I can guarantee that this will be a most exquisite dish to taste."

Naruto nodded while Shuu took another sip of wine. After placing the glass back on the table, Shuu inhaled deeply with a smile on his face.

"So, word around the village is that a certain someone passed his Genin exams, _non_?" Shuu asked.

"Word would be correct then," Naruto replied. "The exams were almost pathetically easy, it's a wonder that anyone actually manages to fail."

"And to think that a good portion of Genin potentials would still fail back when the tests were much easier, before you practically took the evidence and waved it in front of the Sandaime's face."

"People still managed to fail? No wonder Konoha's shinobi forces are so pathetic these days. They just need to form an illusionary clone, successfully Kawamari and perform a decent Henge and all of a sudden we have a large group of sub-par shinobi expected to die for their village. Disgraceful."

Shuu nodded. "It's a wonder that we're still considered the strongest shinobi village anymore."

"Konoha is sub-par in training shinobi, sub-par in actually _running_ the village at times, and especially sub-par in the case of jinchuuriki."

Shuu's eyebrow quirked. "Oh? Explain."

"Konoha seems happy to take the jinchuuriki, in this case me, and just forget I even exist in most circumstances. Other villages, like Kumo for example, not only respect their jinchuuriki, albeit because of fear at times, but actually train them to harness the powers of the beast sealed within them. It's odd that Konoha refuses to train me on how to use the fox. They got it stuck in me, why not show me how to use it?"

"You almost sound like you want to be trained in using its power."

Naruto laughed for a moment before continuing. "Of course not. Why would I want to resort to using that power and become little more than a slavering beast incapable of thought and reason? No, better to use my own skills in place of that power. Besides, if they wanted me to use it, they should have showed me how. Since they didn't I guess I'll never need to use it."

"Perhaps this is true," Shuu replied. "It's almost as if the Leaf doesn't want a jinchuuriki as a trump card."

"You may be right," Naruto said. "After all, why sully their image as a 'benevolent' shinobi village by using barbaric methods such as jinchuuriki to deter war?"

"The whole practice is rather barbaric, yes," Shuu agreed. "Forcing people to live with the burden of an entity composed entirely of malicious chakra is quite horrific. And no one seems to even care for your sake in Konoha besides me."

Naruto smirked. "Well there may be a couple others, but they are few and often far away." He glanced to the side and smiled. "And if I'm not mistaken, that appears to be our lunch arriving."

Sure enough, several maids had arrived with a few covered trays. They set them down on the table and uncovered them all at once. The aroma of the roasted meat filled the air, and Naruto inhaled with a sigh.

Though, he couldn't help but admit that it smelled familiar somehow. He wasn't sure how, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Shuu took up the knife and carved off portions of the roast, placing them on each plate. Sitting back down he smiled.

" _Bon appétit,_ " Shuu remarked.

Naruto nodded in thanks. Cutting a piece off of his portion, he lifted it to his mouth and chewed.

All of a sudden the flavor exploded in his mouth, and he suddenly realized why it smelled so familiar to him.

Swallowing, Naruto glanced at Shuu, who was also eating contently.

"Pardon my asking," Naruto said. "But what kind of meat is this?"

Shuu froze and looked up. A wide grin formed on his face, almost as wide as Naruto's, albeit he didn't bare his gums.

"The meat came from a family of deer," he explained. "A buck, a doe, and a fawn. A rather nice family of hunters went out into the woods one day and killed them, but they refused when I asked if I could have them, given they were killed on our grounds. It took quite a lot of time, and quite a bit of bargaining, but they eventually gave in. They were a beautiful family, a father and mother, and a little girl." Shuu tilted his head. "Why do you ask?

Naruto gazed at Shuu for a moment, then looked back at the meal. A gum-baring grin formed on his face.

"No reason. Absolutely no reason at all."

With that, Naruto raised his fork to his lips, and took another bite.

* * *

" _Au revoir_ Naruto." Shuu said as he waved Naruto goodbye.

Shuu watched Naruto leave with the "supervision" of a few of his elite personal guard. Not that Naruto needed it, but why take the chance at all?

He turned back to look at the table behind him, the remains of their meal still sitting out. Smiling, Shuu walked over and sniffed the air. Covering the dish, he walked off the pavilion and onto the grounds. Inhaling deeply, taking in the mixed scent of freshly cut grass and the recently consumed meal, Shuu sighed contentedly.

It was good that Naruto enjoyed the meal. After all, Shuu only served the finest cuisine possible to his guests. The only downside was that none of it was vegetarian, for those few guests who happened to follow that lifestyle.

Shuu gazed around the gardens across the grounds, before noticing a rosebush. Eyeing the blood-red rose, his thoughts turned to another time, and to the woman whose hair the rose reminded him of.

He could see so much of Kushina in Naruto, and almost none of the man who provided the other half of the equation. Her confidence, her fiery temper, and skill with a blade. Thankfully all that Naruto had received from Namikaze however was the blond hair and blue eyes, and none of the man's weaknesses.

His compassion, lack of killer instinct, and a strange desire to put the village before his own flesh and blood. No, Shuu was glad that none of Minato Namikaze had manifested in Naruto's personality.

Shuu grit his teeth at the thought of Namikaze, fighting down the killer instinct that rose up within him. Fighting back that hunger that plagued him.

Composing himself, Shuu reached down and plucked a bloom from the bush, pricking his finger on the thorny stem. Ignoring the blood dripping from the digit, he gently held the flower in his hand. Turning and walking back to the table at the pavilion, he set the rose into the empty vase and poured some water into it.

Looking back to gaze at the sky, the sun already beginning its slow downward crawl, Shuu smiled.

Feeling the blood dripping from his finger, Shuu looked down, almost as if noticing it for the first time. Raising his bloodstained hand, he opened his mouth and licked his finger.

Irises burned red, while sclera burned black, as the taste of blood reawoke some of the ghoulish instincts within Shuu Tsukiyama.

* * *

Pulling on his shirt and the various weapons and equipment usually on his person, Naruto tied his hair back with its usual golden ornamentation.

It had been nice to see Shuu again after so long, and yesterday's meal was quite splendid indeed. Naruto smirked at the thought, holding back the urge to lick his lips. Shaking his head, Naruto headed for the door, Walrider merging with him as always. Just like the day before, Naruto strode through the streets with confidence while the common folk steered clear of his path. Though unlike yesterday, Naruto had a much different destination in mind.

Taking the path towards the clan homes, Naruto went straight for the emptiest of them all. The Uchiha clan home.

Casually walking into the compound, Naruto listened carefully as he walked. Eventually, he heard the sound of what appeared to be flesh striking a solid surface. Following the sound, he found himself standing in one of the Uchiha's private training grounds. And in that training ground was the person he was looking for.

Sasuke Uchiha stood in front of one of the wooden training posts, wailing away at it with various taijutsu katas from the Interceptor Style of his clan. Sweat dripped from the pores in his skin, and his eyes blazed with two tomoe in each red iris.

"Now Sasuke-san, what did that post ever do to you?" Naruto called. "I mean sure it's there to be hit and all, but you seem to just like beating it half to death, don't you?"

Sasuke froze in his stance and turned to face Naruto. A smirk formed on his face as he walked over, extending a hand.

"How else am I going to get stronger without training Uzumaki?" he remarked. "Unlike you who prefers more guerilla tactics than me, I can't just solve my problems with some insane poison. I have to train to get this kind of power."

"True, but they always say that 'the candle that burns twice as bright dies twice as quick,'"

Sasuke chuckled. "Never figured you for a philosopher Uzumaki." Grabbing a towel and a bottle of water, he turned back to the blond. "Why don't we sit over there, I'll catch my breath, and you can tell me why you're here."

"No need to sit for that then Sasuke-san," Naruto replied. "My reason is simple enough."

"And what might that reason be?"

Naruto smirked. "You yourself said last time we spoke at the exams that you would have rather fought me than that pathetic trash calling themselves a shinobi."

Sasuke stared at his "friend" of sorts. "You want to fight?"

"Not a fight per say, that just sounds barbaric," Naruto said. "No, I'm just proposing a friendly spar between fellow shinobi of the Leaf."

"Friendly, right," Sasuke replied. "Forgive me if I'm a little skeptical given your penchant for kicking the shit out of anyone who annoys you."

"Fine then, we'll set guidelines then. No mortal wounds or injuries that would interfere with our attendance for team assignments tomorrow. I won't use any poisons or concoctions, you limit your Katon techniques to low B-ranked at the highest. Deal?"

"And no hiding in the shadows," Sasuke added. "I'm not suicidal in that regard."

"Okay then, no hiding in the shadows," Naruto agreed. "Do we have a deal?"

With those words, Naruto extended his hand towards Sasuke. Sasuke eyed the hand before taking it and completing the handshake.

"Deal."

With that the two moved towards a circle of sand on the ground and stood opposite one another. Naruto pulled out a shuriken and held it up in front of him.

"When this falls, we begin."

Sasuke nodded as Naruto tossed the shuriken straight up in the air. The bladed star began to fall as the two stood at the ready.

The second it struck the ground, they had already moved.

Sasuke already had his fist outstretched, Naruto had his wrist blade unsheathed. Sasuke ducked under Naruto's slash and retaliated with a rising uppercut. The blond backpedalled and whipped out a trio of kunai before flinging them at the Uchiha heir. Sasuke ducked out of their flight path, snatching one out of the air as he did, before using the kunai to block a downward strike from Naruto's wrist blade.

"Using my own tools against me," Naruto remarked. "Clever."

The two broke apart from their clash. Naruto yanked up his sleeve to reveal his senbon launcher. Sasuke found himself rather shocked when instead of grabbing a cord and pulling back, Naruto simply thrust his arm forward and several senbon launched out at him. Spotting where they would hit using his Sharingan, Sasuke darted out of the way and shot forward, managing to land a solid right hook across Naruto's face.

Naruto skidded back a couple feet and stopped. Rubbing his cheek where the fist struck, Naruto's gum-baring grin appeared in full force. Much as he would deny it later, Sasuke couldn't help but twitch nervously. There was something just… wrong about that grin.

Removing a kunai, Naruto held it in a reverse grip as Sasuke charged forward again, kunai in one of his own hands as well. The two clashed, one stoic and emotionless, the other grinning madly.

Sasuke was so focused on Naruto's blades however, his Sharingan failed to register the incoming attack from below.

Naruto's knee lashed out and struck Sasuke in the gut, knocking the wind out of the Uchiha heir. Naruto then broke the clash and sheathed his wrist blade before backhanding Sasuke across the face. Sasuke stumbled back, wheezing for a moment before he caught his breath.

Looking over at Naruto, he sheathed his kunai and made eye contact. A smirk formed on his face.

"What's so interesting to you Sasuke-san?" Naruto asked.

"You may be clever Naruto," Sasuke replied. "But you should never look an Uchiha in the eyes."

Naruto froze in place, eyes wide and grin gone. Sasuke grinned and lunged forward, rather surprised that Naruto had actually fallen for the Genjutsu in the first place. Fist raised Sasuke was about to end the fight when Naruto's grin returned.

"Did you really think that would work?"

Naruto ducked under Sasuke's punch and reached out for the sand on the ground, before coming back up and flinging sand in the Uchiha's face. Sasuke bellowed in outrage, blinking furiously as his eyes darted around in an attempt to try and see.

Naruto at that point disappeared and reappeared behind Sasuke with a kunai to his neck.

"Yield?"

Sasuke glanced around before growling angrily.

"I yield."

Naruto removed the blade and handed Sasuke the towel from before. Sasuke grunted his thanks before wiping his face and blinking the remaining particles out of his vision.

"You'd think that for once you'd stop throwing sand in people's faces," Sasuke grumbled.

"Why not? It's a good distraction, usually gets them angry, and is perfect for use against doujutsu wielders," Naruto replied, arrogant smirk on his face.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, annoyed at the remark yet unable to deny the truth of it.

"So, anyone you hope isn't on your team?" Sasuke asked.

"Not really," Naruto replied. "Though I will admit that it would be slightly detrimental to Konoha's forces if I am placed on a team with Haruno and Yamanaka."

Sasuke chuckled. "Agreed. Though I'd take Yamanaka over Haruno. At least she knows what a shinobi lifestyle will entail. Plus she's almost as creative with poisons as you."

"Please, her creation didn't have half the amount of symptoms mine had," Naruto scoffed

"Whatever you say Uzumaki. Whatever you say."

Sasuke glanced over at a clock by one of the posts.

"Team assignments are in an hour," he remarked.

"Well then," Naruto said, turning to leave. "You had better take a shower then."

"Asshole," Sasuke called back.

Naruto only chuckled and waved nonchalantly as he went.

* * *

Sitting there in that same classroom, Naruto couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.

Despite the final exams now being more difficult and much more diverse, a large amount of people still managed to pass. It honestly baffled him how the number of those passed still greatly exceeded the number of those failed.

However, he had little reason to care about them. Those that had potential lay with those coming from the clans, despite their appearances denoting otherwise at the time.

Shikamaru appeared to be asleep as usual, Choji was eating snacks, Ino was fiddling with her hair. Kiba was scowling in Naruto's general direction, Hinata looked torn between glaring at him or flinching away in fear, whilst Shino simply sat there impassively. Sasuke was brooding, and Haruno was staring at Sasuke brooding.

But Naruto looked over each of them and he saw that at least one action of theirs was deliberate in some way.

Shikamaru appeared to be sleeping, but Naruto got the feeling that in his mind several possible scenarios were playing out, with Shikamaru coming up with a response for each one. Choji, while seemingly indulging himself, was in fact charging up calories for use later in his clan's techniques. Ino looked the most normal of the two, however Naruto did notice her eyes flicking from classmate to classmate, possibly profiling their personality in her head.

Mentally, Naruto smirked. Let her have her fun trying to profile him, it wouldn't tell her anything.

Kiba, while glaring at Naruto, still kept one hand on the head of his partner Akamaru, ready for anything (be it an enemy attacking or him snapping and lashing out at Naruto) Hinata looked nervous, but that could be a front of some sort to lure in her foes for her to strike. Shino, being an Aburame, could attack without even moving, all by giving a thought to his insects.

Sasuke sat in his "brooding stance" but his entire body language screamed "tense" to Naruto. Haruno's fawning over the Uchiha might also have been a front of some sorts, but whether that was true or not Naruto wasn't sure.

Eventually, Iruka came forward with a list of teams and names.

"Ladies and gentleman, it has been my pleasure to be your instructor in your time at the Academy. I wish you all good luck and a prosperous future in your career as shinobi of the Leaf. Now I will call out your names and who you will be on a team with. You'll have a couple hours to get to know your teammates before your Jonin instructors will come by to pick you up for further instruction."

Holding up the list, Iruka began to call out names. Sasuke was slightly annoyed to find out that not only did he have a nondescript civilian on his team, but also Sakura Haruno as well.

Eventually Iruka reached the end of the list, and much to everyone's surprise Naruto was the only student left.

"Sensei," Sasuke called. "What about Uzumaki? Who's on his team?"

"Well, Naruto's situation is unique. Given we had an odd number of graduates this year, we had one left out. So Naruto will be placed on a team that lost a member recently. Your teammates are Sen Takatsuki and Ayato Kirishima. Your Jonin instructor will be Rize Kamishiro."

Naruto nodded, filing away the two of the names for future reference. He hadn't known that Sen was a shinobi. Something felt off, but Naruto couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Iruka bowed to his former students and left the room. As the different Genin hopefuls walked over to their new teammates and began making small talk, Naruto stood and walked out.

Given he knew nothing about two of the three, it would be wise to learn who they are before meeting them in a couple hours.

But who to go to for information? Brother Sum might know, after all he is the head of a large underground organization. Surely he might have information on these three from someone on the streets in his employ.

Then again, he could also go to Shuu as well. The Tsukiyama family does have a large archive of information on anything that goes on in the village.

Mind made up, Naruto set off to the Tsukiyama estate. He had questions that needed asking, and Shuu was the one to answer.

* * *

"Rize Kamishiro?" Shuu replied. "Now that's a name I haven't heard in ages."

"But you do know her?"

"Yes, I know her. Or rather, I knew her at one point in time. She was an old friend of mine and your mother's."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

"Tell me about her then."

Shuu put a hand on his chin and thought for a moment before continuing.

"Rize is what you might call a free spirit of sorts, who knows that she has great beauty and uses it to her advantage whenever she can," he remarked. "She has few boundaries, has no ambitions, and is not afraid to do anything to appease her boredom. In some ways she almost reminds me of you Naruto."

"You said she isn't afraid to do anything to appease boredom. What do you mean by that?"

"Rize gets bored easily with the monotonous cycle of life, so she likes to spice it up a bit. When boredom is at hand for her, no act is off limits if it might ease said boredom."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. No act was off limits?

"Define what would count as an 'act' for her."

Shuu chuckled. "Anything. Teasing, fighting, sex, it didn't matter if it would kill the time for her."

Naruto's mind raced with different possibilities. Could he use any of this against her somehow if necessary? And what might be enough to work in that regard?

"Did it matter what gender?"

"Not particularly, though she usually preferred only one woman in those kinds of situations."

"One woman? Who?" Naruto asked.

Shuu simply turned to face Naruto, a small smile on his face. Naruto stared at him for a moment before it hit him.

"She-"

"If you're thinking it, then yes. You're correct," Shuu replied.

Naruto stood there, eyes wide, before a gum-baring grin appeared on his face once more.

"Well that changes things then."

Shuu chuckled as Naruto turned to face him, a malicious gleam in his eyes.

"What about the others? Ayato Kirishima specifically, but extra info on Sen would also go a long way."

* * *

Confident with his new-found information, and with various plans and counterplans running through his own mind and that of the Walrider, Naruto returned to the Academy.

Walking into the classroom, Naruto immediately focused his attention on Iruka and strode over to him.

"When exactly will my team arrive?" Naruto asked.

"They aren't actually arriving Naruto," Iruka replied. "Your new sensei came by shortly after you left and told me to tell you to meet them at training ground 13 whenever you got back."

Naruto nodded and walked back out of the room before heading over to the training grounds. As he walked down the streets he glanced to his left and spotted Brother Sum for the briefest of moments. He was walking down the street in his suit as always, immaculate as ever. Brother Sum turned his head and nodded in Naruto's direction.

Naruto gave a small smile in return, as well as a nod of his own.

Eventually he arrived at the 13th training ground in the Leaf, and at the moment no one was there that he could see. Naruto sent a brief mental probe to the Walrider, rousing it from its artificial slumber within his body.

"You know what to do."

The Walrider phased out of his host, hissing in reply before darting off into the distance. Naruto cracked his neck and continued further into the field. It was then that he finally saw his teammates for the first time.

"You made it," the purple-haired woman (Rize from what Shuu told Naruto) noted.

"'Bout time he showed up," the single male (Ayato, most likely) said with a general tone of annoyance.

"Calm down Ayato," the girl with disheveled green hair (Sen Takatsuki, Naruto noted with a small smile) said with a frown. "He's here and that's all that matters."

"Enough. Both of you," Rize said sternly.

Glancing back at Naruto, she looked him up and down before settling back into her "teacher-mode" of sorts.

"Well, Uzumaki, you're the odd man out at the moment. Introduce yourself to us."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Odd, given usually this would go the other way around," he mused. "But I'll humor you for now. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, as I'm sure you already know. My likes would include fine dining and orchestral music. My dislikes would have to be the moronic sheep of the village, imbeciles who have no place in a shinobi lifestyle, rudeness, and weaklings."

This was not much of a surprise to the disguised ANBU. From what they knew, he held a rather prominent "survival-of-the-fittest" mentality.

"My hobbies include cooking and preparing my own food, reading, purging heretical pigs from this earth, and mixing poisons. My dreams for the future…" Naruto paused for a moment and put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure exactly what my long-term goal would be, but purging the world of the brutes to leave only the survival of the intelligent would be a good start."

Naruto gave a polite smile. "Now I believe common courtesy requires that you all introduce yourselves as well."

Rize, Ayato, and Sen all glanced at one another, almost having a silent conversation of sorts, before Rize spoke.

"I guess I will go first. I am Rize Kamishiro, your new Jonin sensei. My likes are quick meals that don't take much time to prepare, settling differences with others, and enjoying those whom I consider close to me in many ways. My dislikes include people who refuse to give up despite the odds against them, people who also refuse to use the mind that was given to us when we were born, and boredom."

Naruto nodded in appreciation, mentally smirking as he put together what she really meant when she spoke.

"My hobbies include hunting, alleviating boredom, and spending time with those I am close to. As for dreams, I don't particularly have one." She turned to Ayato. "You're up Ayato."

Ayato scoffed but got off of the post he was sitting on and stood before Naruto.

"The name's Ayato Kirishima. I don't have any likes except for one person, and my dislikes are far too numerous to name. My hobbies include beating the shit out of anyone who looks down on me, and my dream is… private."

Naruto nodded at the blue-haired teen, still filing away information in his head. Sen at that moment decided it was her turn to speak.

"Well, my name is Sen Takatsuki. My likes are peace and quiet, and generally being around nature. My dislikes are, well people in general. My hobbies include taking walks through the forest, and writing. I've never really thought much about dreams really."

"Good to see you again Sen," Naruto remarked. "I believe I read the latest volume in your book series when it came out. It was an enjoyable read, if I do say so myself. Phenomenal work as always."

Sen smiled and bowed her head in thanks, Ayato giving a slight nod in Naruto's direction, and Rize looking carefully at the blond.

"Alright, now that we're all introduced, it's time for your Genin exam Naruto."

"This is basically the test to make sure I can actually be a successful Genin or if I need to go back to the academy I take it?" Naruto replied.

"You would be correct, though this test will include all of you." Rize reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out a blood red blade. "Your task is to get this blade from whoever has it at the time. Whoever has it at the end of the test, passes. Whoever doesn't, fails. Understood?"

Naruto said nothing. The only change on his face was that his grin stretched out to bare his gums for the world to see. Another almost imperceptible change that could be attributed to the angle of the light was noticed, and that was that his eyes appeared to be a shade of maroon similar to that of dried blood.

"When do we start?"

"Now."

The moment she finished speaking Naruto dropped several smoke bombs on the ground, setting them off. As smoke filled the area, all that could be heard was Naruto's laughter.

"Hopefully you all provide a bit of a challenge compared to the imbeciles that tried to pass themselves off as shinobi!" he bellowed with a wide grin.

Yanking out several ball-shaped objects, Naruto yanked the pins on the ends out with his teeth and threw them around him in the smoke cloud.

Multiple explosions rang out through the area, dispelling the remainder of the smoke. Noticing nothing around him save charred grass and the burnt remains of a log, Naruto chuckled.

"Guess they might be something after all then."

Sending out a small telepathic signal to his partner, Naruto closed his eyes and focused. Smirking he headed into the forest.

* * *

Ayato popped his neck and waited for anyone (preferably a certain blond however) to attack him. Pulling out the crimson kunai, he flipped it in his hand a couple times as he stood.

A couple leaves in one of the bushes rustled to his left. A pair of kunai later and a dead squirrel fell out of the branches.

"Stupid rodents," he growled. "Now I'm getting jumpy. Hopefully Uzumaki shows up soon, cause this is getting boring."

Immediately Naruto dropped from the canopy above him, grinning madly with wrist blade unsheathed.

Ayato backpedalled as quickly as possible before lunging with a strike at Naruto's exposed back. Needless to say it came to a great shock when Naruto reached back with his blade and blocked Ayato's fist along the flat without even turning his head to notice him.

"What the hell?"

"Close Ayato, but not close enough," Naruto replied.

Ayato backed away and stared at the blond as he turned around.

"How the hell did you block that without even looking at me when I struck?"

"Now that is a good question," Naruto mused. "Wanna go again and see if you get any different?

Now Ayato may be hot-tempered, but he wasn't ANBU for no reason. Something allowed Naruto to sense his attack but what? He wasn't a sensor as far as they knew, So how did he see it? A bloodline of some sort?

Keeping calm, Ayato placed his hands in the handseal for the Kage Bunshin only to create several normal Bunshin in place of the actual technique. Leaving another clone in his place he backed into the shadows to watch.

Naruto kept dodging perfectly, even attacks linked to various blind spots on his person. But how?

Eventually though the blond got sloppy and one of the kunai thrown by a Bunshin seemingly grazed him only for no blood to drip from his arm. Naruto eyed the would-be wound for a moment before laughing.

"Clever trick there Ayato," he remarked. "Feigning the Kage Bunshin but in reality using only conventional illusions. I'm impressed that you actually would use distractionary tactics, given your personality. So, did you figure out how I'm dodging your attacks?"

Much to Ayato's ire, he hadn't deciphered the technique yet. Abandoning stealth, he charged in with a kunai. Naruto unsheathed one of his own unique kunai and locked blades with Ayato. Grinning, Naruto hawked and spat right in Ayato's eye. Then he followed up with a knee to the stomach and a backhand across the face.

Staggering slightly and wiping saliva from his eye, Ayato decided to forgo holding back somewhat.

Pulling out a sealing scroll, he channeled chakra and unsealed a pair of maces with decadon-shaped heads.

"I'm gonna enjoy crushing you Uzumaki."

"We'll see."

Bellowing a war cry, Ayato charged Naruto with maces at the ready. Naruto held his kunai in one hand while unsheathing his wrist blade in the other. He locked his blade with one of the maces and grinned.

"You're interesting Ayato, using a weapon such as that in battle. Not bad," he remarked. "Still it's such a brutish weapon wouldn't you agree? And that unseemly attitude of yours. I mean really, even Touka could beat you when you use such brutish tactics."

Ayato's eyes widened in fury as he let out a scream of abject rage. Lashing out mercilessly, he swung the heavy weapons at his opponent again and again, all thought of even toying with Naruto using his special abilities forgotten. All that mattered was smashing that punk to pieces.

All the while, he never noticed Naruto palming the marked kunai from his belt and slipping it into his pocket.

His prize in hand, Naruto ducked under another barrage of mace swings and held a palm in front of Ayato's face. He clenched his fingers into a fist and a hidden tube under his senbon launcher sprayed gas in his face.

"Sleep Ayato," he commanded.

Sure enough Ayato passed out from the gas in his lungs. Smirking, Naruto eyed the device with pride before walking off, confident in his success now that he had the kunai.

He never spotted a faint disturbance in the air, almost shaped like a tendril, fishing the kunai out of his pocket and slithering back into the bushes.

* * *

Rize slipped the marked kunai into her belt with a sigh of relief. She hadn't actually expected Naruto to get the blade from Ayato, but he had managed to. This was what Ayato got for losing his composure and underestimating the blond.

Not to mention that he knew something that he shouldn't know despite evidence showing that he knew nothing about them or their kind. So how did he know about Touka?

Blue combed-over hair and a condescending smirk flashed through her mind. It was Tsukiyama no doubt. He always was closer to Kushina than even her at times. If she hadn't married Minato, Rize had little doubt that Kushina might have considered Shuu as a potential candidate despite not knowing of his particular diet.

Hell, there were times that Rize had wondered if Shuu and Kushina _had_ slept together at some point and created Naruto. It wasn't entirely out of the question, and it might explain some of Shuu's current investment in the boy. But she had checked the blood tests herself and there was no denying that Naruto was Minato's son, despite how much he reminded her of Shuu at times.

At that point Sen returned from her sweep of the surrounding area.

"Did you find him?"

"No, I haven't seen him. Stealth is still one of his strongest tactics alongside psychological warfare and guerilla tactics."

"We need to keep an eye out for him, and if you happen to sense him, immediately we get back and attack him from both angles. You take the front, I'll take the back," Rize ordered.

Sen nodded before freezing in place.

"He's on the way."

"Good. Get into position. Now!"

The two women darted into the bushes and out of sight just as Naruto ran out of the woods, swearing under his breath and looking rather annoyed. Glancing around, he closed his eyes and began to focus.

Immediately Sen and Rize rushed out of their hiding places with weapons raised. Rize held a katana while Sen uncoiled spiked chains with hooks on the ends from her sleeves. Rize slashed down while Sen whipped at him with her chains.

With eyes still closed, Naruto caught the chain by the hook and stopped the blade of the sword with his bare hand. Rize was even more shocked to see that the sword hadn't broken the skin on his palm, just bruised it slightly where it made contact.

"Nice try, but with this technique I see all that lies around me," Naruto said with a smirk.

Rize's eyes widened. Glancing around, she suddenly got the feeling of something looking down at her with slight malicious intent. Focusing her gaze upward, she was a little stunned at what she saw.

Hovering above the trio was a faint human-shaped disturbance in the air, not unlike when she used Genjutsu to hide her unique ability. This thing was simply watching her and Sen's every move. Then it hit her.

Whatever that disturbance was, Naruto was somehow linked to it. Whatever it saw, he saw as if through his own eyes.

"Shocked that I managed to block your blade?" Naruto asked, drawing her attention back to him. "It's something I've been working on for a little while now, and while it's nowhere near complete, it can still block a sword while nullifying some of the cutting force behind it." He tilted his head to look at her, burgundy eyes peering into her very soul. "Though that stance is familiar. You learned it from my mother didn't you?"

Rize's eyes widened. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Well," Naruto began, dried blood irises still staring at her. "You and her were rather… close, now weren't you? Closer than most friends from what I've heard about you two. I take it this was before she began seeing the donor for my Y-chromosomes?"

Rize dropped her blade in shock, barely able to comprehend what was just said to her. How could he possibly know? Unless… Shuu Tsukiyama.

She was so out of it at that point that she barely reacted when Naruto lunged for the kunai. If not for the fact that he still held the hook of Sen's chain, he would have grabbed it, if Sen hadn't yanked him back.

"I don't think so!" she called out, lashing out with both chains.

Naruto ducked out of the way of the spiked lashes, especially wary of the hooks on the end. Sen pulled both chains back and lashed out at him from both sides, each lash tearing away at the dirt ground or bark of nearby trees. Leaping above the incoming chains, Naruto flung a kunai down at the metal links. The blade caught into a link on both chains, then stabbed into the ground with the chains still attached.

Sen pulled frantically as Naruto shot towards her, all thoughts of the marked kunai forgotten for now.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you Sen," he remarked as he got close, slashing down with his wrist blade, which she barely blocked with the taut chains. "I've got a little something to ask you about as well. How did you manage to move on?"

"Move on from what?"

"Why losing Kaneki of course," Naruto said with a gum-baring grin. "After all, he died of a method so brutal and painful, how did you ever manage to get over knowing that you failed the man you claimed to love?"

Sen grit her teeth as tears began to flow from her eyes as her right, unnoticed by Naruto, began to change.

Rize snapped out of her shock just in time to notice the sclera on Sen's right eye beginning to turn black. Just as she was about to react and subdue her before she could lose control, Naruto sheathed his wrist blade and chopped her in the throat with his hand.

The black faded from her eye as Sen began coughing roughly. She collapsed to her knees, hacking and wheezing. Naruto turned away from her and vanished. Rize's eyes darted from side to side frantically. Then she felt something cold and sharp against her throat. She froze in place and glanced down.

There at the base of her neck, clutched in Naruto's hand, was the crimson kunai. And at that moment, the clock she had set on a post rang.

"I believe I pass then, Rize-sensei," Naruto said calmly, removing the blade from her neck and handing it back to her.

Stunned, Rize took the kunai. Shaking her head, she walked over to help Sen up. Turning back to Naruto she nodded.

"Yes. You pass Naruto. You are now an official Genin of the Leaf," she remarked. "Welcome to Team 13."

 **End Chapter**

 **Phantom: Well, I think that's done then! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, because unfortunately this will be the last chapter posted for some time. The spring semester at my college starts in a couple days, and most of my time from here on out will be focused on homework and studying. I'm sorry that it has to be this way, but hopefully I can return to writing once everything has calmed down and my grades are stable. On a side note, if any of you happen to be writers on this site (or prospective writers) and need a co-author to help out with ideas and proofreading, Morgoth might be willing to help you out if you send him a message via PM.**

 **Morgoth: Adding to what Phantom said, I prefer to work with dark/evil/powerful Naruto stories as well as non-hinata/sakura pairings.**

 **Phantom: But regardless, should you receive his help (and I believe you should) I recommend you consider whatever advice he has to offer. I will not lie, a good portion of my writing would not have been possible without his help (be it offering ideas or suggestions, or just telling me to get my ass in gear and finish the chapter) He knows what he's doing. Anyways, leave a like, follow, and/or a review if you liked the chapter. See ya on the flip side!**

 **Morgoth: Thank you for reading. And remember, follow the sacred path, for the Great Journey lies ahead.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Hunt and a Massacre

 **Author's Note: Welcome back to the newest chapter of Nightmare Incarnate (to the few readers I may still have at this point) If all goes according to plan, this chapter will probably have been uploaded first, with a new chapter to There and Back Again getting posted a bit later, followed by (hopefully) a new chapter of The Witch-King Cometh. This is provided that my updating schedule hasn't been shot to hell again.**

 **Now, I'm not sure if anyone happened to see it when we get this posted, but there were some alterations made to previous chapters. Some ideas we put in there were kinda just thrown in, and looking back we (Morgoth and I) decided it would be better to remove them. Not to mention they kinda conflicted with how the story eventually is going to play out. Enough of my rambling on though, let's just get into the chapter.**

Naruto stood in front of the mirror, carefully zipping up the plastic suit he was wearing over his dark clothes. Once his appearance was immaculate as it could be, he took his ponytail in his hand and looked at it with a frown.

Ponytails were sometimes discouraged among shinobi forces for a single obvious reason. Long hair could be a detriment to combat and could easily get you captured if someone just so happened to think for a second and grab it. Some of the more skilled members of the shinobi force were able to get away with it, such as a few members of ANBU for example, but most of the time it was avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Naruto shook his head and let go of his hair. No need to worry about it now, if it proved to be a problem for his hobby, then he'd either cut it or just tuck it away somewhere. Though it was a little recognizable…

Deciding not to worry with it, Naruto gazed at himself in the mirror, a sickly smile forming on his face. Not necessarily his usual twisted gum-baring grin laced with madness, but a true smile that betrayed nothing except the sick hunger that lurked within.

The Walrider phased out of Naruto's back with a faint hiss, its faceless head glancing around from side to side. Naruto turned to look at the spirit, his head tilting to the side with smile still apparent.

"You know what to do."

The Walrider shrieked and darted out the window to fly upwards into the sky. Naruto watched his companion leave before turning and walking towards his closet. Moving aside the clothes hanging there, Naruto reached down and pulled out a pitch black gas mask with a midnight black visor spanning across the front of the mask and a single filtering tube protruding from the left side of the mask's face. He loosened the straps and pulled the mask over his face, tightening the straps until they were snug. He adjusted the mask slightly, and pulled up his hood ensuring that it would cover the back of his head. Naruto turned and reached into the closet and slid aside the panel making up the back, a panel that hid the last portion of his arsenal.

Hanging on the wall behind the panel were four weapons. The first was a gold and silver longsword, with three small arcs facing inwards along both sides of the blade, ending in the blade's refined tip. Its pommel and crossguard being made of a fine gold and its hilt was wrapped in smooth, black leather. The second weapon was a polearm of a much darker, more roughly forged look, with a single blade that looked more like a sword attached to the top of a staff, with twisted metal, vine-like carvings entwining around the blade while still remaining functional. These intertwining metal vines seemed to stop three inches away from the blade of the polearm and ended in their own small, serrated blades. The third weapon(s) were two long metal poles (clearly too long to fit in the panel when put together) with the first piece being topped with three strips of refined metal attached to the top of the pole, forming seven protruding points with each end of the strips. The inside of the pole had been hollowed out as to allow the second piece to easily conjoin. The second piece was topped by conical blade about six inches in length with a razor-sharp edge. On the other end of the second pole was a rounded cylinder adorned in elaborate designs, easily capable of being utilized as a cudgel. The final weapon was a sword that resembled a dagger, forged with a much shorter blade than the previous sword in Naruto's closet.

Naruto eyed the weapons for a moment, selecting the shorter blade and its matching sheath before sliding the panel back in place. He reached down into his belt and fixed the sheathed weapon there before turning towards the same window the Walrider flew out of. Stepping onto the window sill, Naruto slipped out and dropped down into the alleyway below. Dusting himself off, Naruto strode off into the shadows.

Gliding through the night, Naruto slipped from shadow to shadow, alley to alley, street to street, searching. Stalking. Hunting.

His targets were quickly spotted from above by the Walrider. Listening carefully to the mental whispers of his partner, Naruto darted into another shadowy corner and eyed his newfound prey. They weren't anyone special. At least, that was what anyone else would have said. But to Naruto, they were special in this moment. They were prey. They were food.

Both were civilian women, appearing to be coming home from either a party or a get-together. The fact that they were civilians was obvious since at least one of them was drunk. Few shinobi, even in peacetime, would get that drunk in the middle of the night.

One of them had straight bleach-blonde hair and dark brown eyes, and she was clearly the more intoxicated one of the two. Her clothes were considerably skimpy, and almost seemed to be falling off her body. Naruto inhaled deeply, before recoiling at the scent of cheap sake wafting from her body. The second girl on the other hand was one that Naruto recognized, if only by vague association before he had chosen her.

She was a waitress at one of the restaurants that he had frequented somewhat regularly, and something about her scent had drew him in. So he began to watch her, note her movements and mark down her normal schedule. He watched her leave her apartment building at exactly 7:30 every morning to go for a jog around the village before returning home around two hours later. At 3:15 in the afternoon she left for work, at which point Naruto would arrive at the restaurant she worked at for dinner whenever he for some reason didn't feel like cooking that night. He'd watch her while he ate, then take up a position outside the business to wait for after closing time. The restaurant closed at 9, at which point she would either return to her apartment complex or go out to various clubs with her friends and consistently was seen with the blonde girl she was currently with.

She had a stranger hair color, being dark blue of all things, with eyes of the same color. Whether it was natural or not, Naruto was never able to tell. Unlike her friend, who was obviously drunk, she was not. (Though Naruto caught a faint scent of alcohol on her, denoting that she had had a few drinks, thankfully it was not as overpowering as the first girl's)

Eying the duo, Naruto put a hand on the handle of his dagger as he followed them from a distance in the shadows.

Eventually the two came to what appeared to be the house of the blond girl. Naruto slipped into the alleyway and kept watching them while the Walrider darted down from the skies and hovered a few feet above them like a sentry. The two girls said their goodbyes, shockingly enough, in the form of a drunkenly fierce make-out session a few feet from the door. Naruto watched somewhat dispassionately, though as any red-blooded male would agree, he did enjoy the scene somewhere in the very back of his mind.

He would also firmly deny that there ever was a tinting of red across his face underneath his gas mask while he watched.

The blue-haired girl waved and walked off in the same direction they had been going, most likely going towards her apartment complex. The blond girl giggled out a drunken babble of something or rather as she fiddled with her keys in a stupor. Popping his neck, Naruto tightened his grip on his dagger and made his move.

While the woman was still giggling and trying to figure out which key it was that unlocked her door, Naruto gently jacked open one of her windows with the blade of his sword. With the window sufficiently open, he slipped into the house, shutting the window behind him. As he heard the lock start to turn in the front door, he channeled chakra to his palm and pressed it against the wall. Ink spread out from his hand in the shape of various intricately drawn seals which snaked up the walls and interlocked with each other. His spur-of-the-moment Fuinjutsu complete, Naruto darted over to the shadows beside the door and stood there, waiting, holding his short sword in hand.

A few seconds later, the intoxicated blonde managed to get the correct key in the lock and opened the door. Staggering out of her shoes, she walked straight past the masked hunter standing right beside her.

Slinking up behind her, he reached a hand out to the door, the woman still drunkenly humming some inane song under her breath while unaware of that which stood behind her. It wasn't until she heard the sound of the door closing and locking that she realized that all was not well. She turned and stared in horror at the sight of the black-shrouded figure standing there, razor-sharp blade at the ready. It was in that moment that she screamed as loud as she could and tried to backpedal as fast as she could. It did little good as Naruto shot forward and grabbed her by the mouth, muffling her screams and pleas.

All while she was letting out muffled wailing and pleading, she looked desperately at the face of her attacker, hoping that somehow she would get out of this alive. These hopes were dashed as she saw the expressionless mask covering his face, with the only visible portion of his face being the eyes like blood that gleamed from behind the glass of the mask's eyeholes. Eyes that betrayed nothing except hunger. Then he spoke.

"I can hear it, I can hear the great bells that the Gods have tolled. They've called for a soul of sacrifice, and you shall work just perfectly," he spoke in a raspy, ear shredding voice, akin to the sound of metal grinding against metal.

Upon hearing those words, the girl began struggling harder, her muffled screams growing louder as her attacker raised his dagger. Then she felt a searing, burning pain in her neck as he stabbed her in the throat with his blade.

He caught the back of her neck and slowly lowered her down to the ground as she coughed up blood and frantically grasped at her throat. Watching her as she frantically tried to crawl away, blood pooling much quicker due to the alcohol in her system, Naruto reversed his grip on his weapon and raised it high. Then he brought it down and impaled her through the back, through the shoulder, and into the floor. Naruto stepped back and watched her continue to bleed out, gasping and choking on the very life essence that ran through her veins.

She let out one last strangled whimper, like the sound of a person drowning, before falling silent.

He took a small bow of sorts, as a sort of motion of respect, and spoke once more in his raspy voice, "And the rest is silence."

Standing from his bow, Naruto ripped his dagger free from the corpse and flicked the blade to the side, ridding it of the woman's blood. Eyeing the corpse, he glanced down and observed his handiwork. He then glanced down blood running down the layer of plastic that covered his dark clothing. Naruto idly brushed off some of the blood, pleased that the plastic was doing its job.

Sure, he could alway send his clothes to Shuu Tsukiyama for cleaning with no questions asked, but why bother when you already took precautions to make sure there weren't any bloodstains to scrub out of the clothing anyways?

Glancing over at the Walrider phasing through the door, Naruto motioned to the corpse. The spirit nodded and darted over to pick up the body and float towards the window. Naruto strode over to the window, palming the wall to remove the silencing seal as he went, and opened it. The Walrider, still dragging the fresh meat, carefully lifted her through the window while phasing through the wall.

Naruto followed out the window, shutting it afterwards. He lifted his head to the sky and inhaled deeply. The moment he caught a whiff of the other girl's scent, he had disappeared into the shadows once more.

It took him a few minutes to locate her exact position, her scent having intermingled with the dregs of the smell of the people who walked in that area earlier that day, but he found her nonetheless. He had been carefully observing her scent for about a month now anyways, as she was his chosen target, so it was no surprise he was able to find it again.

Naruto dropped off of the rooftop he was scaling while he searched, and landed lightly in an alleyway.

Going by rooftops at this time of night would be rather sloppy, especially since the Walrider had spotted a couple of ANBU patrolling a short ways off. Seeing someone in a gas mask and no visible headband would immediately spark curiosity, curiosity that Naruto didn't need. With that in mind, Naruto was thankful that his skill with Fuinjutsu had become great enough that his chakra wouldn't flare when activating or placing a seal. A random flare of chakra was just as troubling for ANBU as was a mysterious figure on the rooftops, and would be bound to spark interest in his location.

Naruto watched his target walk into her apartment building, at which point he stifled a small groan. Somehow, he had been careless enough to not find out what apartment she lived in, and that was not an ideal situation for him, especially with apartment buildings. Apartment buildings meant other residents (unlike the complex he lived in) and that meant more people to catch a glimpse of him while he searched for her residence. And committing a massacre (while tempting) was not the best idea.

He slipped into another alley around the back of the complex, glancing around. The Walrider phased through a wall and hissed lowly at his host. Naruto gestured to the building.

"You know the target, find her residence."

The spirit hissed in response and darted through the wall of the complex. Naruto crouched down, kneeling on one knee and raised a single one-handed seal before closing his eyes. Dropping the seal, Naruto adjusted his position for a moment before falling still.

An image began forming within his mind, faintly tinted a dark green color, an image of a point of view that kept darting through walls and shooting down the hallways. It passed by someone entering their apartment and kept going, turning from side to side as it searched throughout the building.

Finally it found the girl he had been tailing, her form faintly glowing in its view. She unlocked the door to her apartment and went inside, closing and locking the door behind her.

The point of view glanced at the door and made note of the numbers there. A faint shriek of triumph was heard as Naruto cut the link and opened his eyes before looking up, having noticed something from the Walrider's vision. There were security cameras.

Standing up, Naruto scanned the outside of the building until he noticed a security camera pointing away from him, Naruto carefully scaled the wall and opened up the side of the camera. Removing a small flash drive from his sleeve, Naruto plugged it into the camera punched in a quick code before moving back down the wall. Standing back up, he strode to the door of the complex and tested the handle.

"Locked," he mused softly.

Reaching into the gloves he was wearing, Naruto extracted a pair of lockpicks and slipped them in the keyhole. A few twists and turns later, the lock finally clicked open. Naruto replaced the lockpicks into his gloves and slipped into the building. Applying a small amount of chakra to his feet, Naruto stepped onto the walls and crouched down, scaling upward three floors to his destination.

Stepping back onto the floor, Naruto sent a faint message to the Walrider through their link. Once the wraith sent back an "all-clear" Naruto carefully opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

Spotting the Walrider near the door to the girl's apartment, Naruto turned and strode over towards it. Upon seeing its host approaching, the Walrider phased its arm through the door and gently turned the lock before slowly opening the door. Nodding at the spirit, Naruto stepped gingerly into the apartment, sniffing for a moment before smirking. Partially unzipping the plastic suit, Naruto removed a small bottle and a cloth sealed in a plastic bag. Removing the cloth and unscrewing the lid off the bottle, Naruto placed the cloth over the bottle and tipped it.

Recapping the bottle and stowing it, Naruto zipped the plastic back up and slowly walked in the direction of where the girl's scent led.

She was currently in the kitchen area, standing there and nursing a cup of tea. While not as intoxicated as her friend (or perhaps girlfriend) he had noticed the telltale signs that she had been drinking for a bit.

The most obvious sign being that she didn't notice the man wearing a gas mask and a plastic suit standing right behind her.

Right as she set the cup of tea down on the counter, Naruto struck. He quickly wrapped an arm around her neck as he covered her face with the cloth. The girl began letting out muffled screams from behind the cloth, struggling valiantly against the hand over her face and the arm around her neck.

Despite her struggles, Naruto held firm and waited as her movements became sluggish and her screams dulled until she went limp in his arms. Carefully laying her down on the floor, Naruto stowed the cloth back in the plastic suit. Once he did so, he knelt down and picked up the unconscious woman and slung her over his shoulder.

Getting another "all-clear" from the Walrider, Naruto picked up the girl's key and locked the door behind him. His quarry captured, he slipped into the stairway and made his way back down to the bottom floor and out the door. Once he left the building, he handed the unconscious girl to the Walrider before rescaling the wall to the camera he had plugged the flash drive into. He input another code and removed the drive, replacing the panel on the side. Naruto dropped back down and took the girl from the Walrider, then he disappeared into the shadows, heading back towards his apartment.

* * *

It took time for Yui to regain consciousness, but when she did it was not the most pleasant thing to wake up to.

She awoke strapped to a table, apparently in a basement somewhere, and was lacking clothing while still wearing enough to be considered decent. Yui glanced around in a panic, wanting nothing more to scream despite the duct tape across her mouth. It was then that she took note of the footsteps coming from her right, and she looked over in the direction of the sound.

Walking towards her was a figure clothed in black, with a layer of bloodstained plastic zipped over his clothes. Covering his face was an expressionless gas mask, and in his hand was a dagger with a razor-sharp undulating blade, designed to carve and cause pain while doing so.

He stood before her, idly looking down at her before stabbing the blade into the table. Yui flinched and let out a murmured plea behind the tape covering her mouth. Reaching up to the back of his head, he undid the straps of the gas mask and removed it, setting it aside as he did before turning back to face her, smoothing back stray hairs as he did. Upon recognizing her kidnapper, Yui froze in shock. She knew that face, after all she had served him a few times during her tenure as waitress.

"Naruto Uzumaki," the blond said in a calm voice. "Hiii."

Yui's eyes widened further as she began struggling harder against her restraints, begging and screaming behind the tape. Naruto gazed down at her, his eyes the color of dried blood and a charming smile on his face.

"Naruto? Naruto from the restaurant?" he remarked. "Huh, did I really make such a fleeting impression? Well I suppose that was rather the point."

Yui continued thrashing and struggling against her bonds as Naruto idly removed the knife from the table and began casually spinning it in his hand. He looked down at her, a smile still clear on his face.

"Look at you, just look at you. You're afraid," he remarked. "That is good. You're displaying common human instinct, and that instinct is to feel fear in a situation where you have no control, where you are the weaker one, where you might be about to die."

Naruto began pacing slowly around the table, nonchalantly tossing the knife in the air and catching it by the flat of the blade or the hilt. Yui's eyes couldn't help but follow his movements, terrified of what he might do if she blinked for even a second.

"Under normal circumstances, fear would cause you to undergo a 'fight or flight' response to the cause of that fear," Naruto said as he walked, still tossing the knife. "Thus that response would allow you to fight off the source of your fear, or you would flee and live another day. Unfortunately for you…" Naruto stopped and stood to Yui's left, catching the knife by the hilt and holding it in his hand. "I'm not the kind of predator that you can fight, nor one you can flee from. You see, unlike most predators, I don't fight fair."

Tears began welling in Yui's eyes as she continued to struggle, trying to turn away from Naruto's apathetic gaze, an action which Naruto took note of.

"Why do you turn away?" he murmured. "Is it from fear of death, or is it because of that one thing that all women fear?"

Yui began shaking her head as tears ran down her cheeks. Naruto sighed and leaned over her bound form, his calm expression suddenly giving way to unbridled fury.

"Unlike the heretics and vile beings that may stalk this village at night, I am not one who takes people like that, be it man or woman," he snarled, almost spitting the words at her.

Naruto froze and recomposed himself, leaning back slightly from his hunched over position.

"Why should I? It holds no meaning for me. No, you just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time, and you caught my eye. You're no shinobi, but regardless I'll get some good meat from you."

With a swift motion, Naruto ripped the tape from her mouth and circled to the other side. Yui gasped and looked up at him in horror.

"Y-y-you're the V-voracious?" she whimpered.

"Ah yes, they did come up with a name for me didn't they?" Naruto mused with a smirk. "I'm actually flattered that I'm deemed dangerous enough to be given an epitaph and a warrant for my arrest. But really? Voracious?" He paused to raise a hand and rub his brow while sightly softly. "I mean really, couldn't they have come up with something better than a synonym for 'hungry?' Seriously, ordinary people are quite lacking in creativity aren't they?"

"B-but you're a cannibal," Yui said softly, fear still evident in her voice. "T-the name might m-make sense, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so, but in the end calling me a cannibal is merely just semantics," Naruto said, dismissively waving a hand. "It all depends on the point of view in all honesty. Besides, is what I'm doing really so different than what humanity does on a daily basis? Slaughtering animals for food is a common practice that has been in place for centuries, millennia even." He flipped the knife into a reversed grip and hovered it over her body. "Not that it matters right now, discussing point of view and morality with a serial killer, for you are going to die after all."

He settled the blade over her stomach and raised it. Yui closed her eyes and whispered three words.

"Forgive me Hiyori."

Naruto froze and lowered the blade.

"Hiyori?" he asked. "A family member or perhaps a significant other?"

Yui said nothing, her eyes set in determination.

"Although, you'll possibly be happy to know that you weren't the only person I've killed tonight," Naruto said. "A blond girl, quite intoxicated by the looks of it, who just so happened to share a rather touching farewell with you on her doorstep. Is she 'Hiyori' by any chance?"

Yui's eyes widened as tears began anew as she choked in horror. Naruto put a hand on his chin and thought for a moment.

"Given how much alcohol was in her system, I won't even have to soak the meat beforehand if I want something cooked with alcohol. Depending on what she was drinking." Naruto shrugged. "Oh well. At least now I don't have to worry about grieving lovers wanting to hunt me down for revenge. Not that they'd be able to fight me anyways, or even find me for that matter."

Naruto paused once more, idly tapping the flat of his knife against the side of his cheek, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Though perhaps I will give them a little hint or clue about who I am sometime, just to see if they can figure it out," he mused. "After all, simply walking circles around incompetent Leaf shinobi assigned to catching me and bringing me to their little variation of 'justice' isn't that much fun in the long run. I do love a good challenge after all."

Shaking his head and clearing his thoughts, Naruto placed the blade over her stomach once more and raised it, glancing back at the girl's distraught face.

"I know I've just dropped quite a big piece of news on you right now," he remarked. "But if you wouldn't mind screaming for me, that would be marvelous."

Right on cue, Yui's screams of agony began echoing through the basement, muffled from the outside world due to the seals Naruto had lined the walls with. As she screamed and begged throughout the pain, Naruto continued his work with a small smile on his face.

* * *

The first thing Naruto noticed with this dream was the scenery. He appeared to be at a coastline, mountains off in the distance and ocean waves crashing into the rocks below him. A breeze blew around him, and Naruto inhaled and shook his head. He couldn't taste the salt that was sure to be in the air. The only thing he could smell was the metallic scent of blood that he knew all too well.

Naruto looked to his right to see a group of people standing around two men, one on his knees while the other lay bleeding in the dirt.

The kneeling man had spiky hair and a long beard the color of dull auburn, his face wrinkled with obvious age and fixed in an expression of resigned sorrow. Two horns, one longer than the other, grew from the top of his head, and he bore strange purple eyes bearing a set of four concentric rings surrounding the pupil and expanding outward. He was cloaked in white robes with black magatama marking the neck and edges of his sleeves, though the robes weren't necessarily all white now, and were quite stained in red. The backs of his legs appeared to have been sliced with a sharp blade, and lying at his feet was the shattered form of a strange black sword with a blade shaped like a double-helix.

The man lying on the ground looked far worse off than the first, as he had several arrows stuck in his person and his left arm appeared to have had the skin and part of the muscles burnt off. He also showed signs of age like the first man, as well as similar robes and horns growing from his head, though there were differences. His hair was much longer, straighter, and was white like his robes. His eyes were the same, being very pale with no visible pupil, and several veins faintly bulging around his eyes, thus Naruto concluded he must be a Hyuuga of some sort. Lying shattered to the side of this man was a shakujo staff with a cross-shaped head.

Losing interest in the downed men, Naruto instead focused on the group standing in front of them, one man and two women that appeared to be almost identical twins if not for a few differences in clothing.

The man standing between the women was inhumanly tall, standing at 10 feet tall, and was clothed in ragged leather and golden bronze armor. He wielded a massive polearm with a straight triangular blade of a similar golden metal to his armor clasped in his hand, whilst his free hand was clenched in a fist at his side. His lower face was covered by a brown shroud and atop his head was a crown of burnished gold with a few short prongs jutting from the top, from which his wild grey hair spilled out over the top and cascaded down his back, hinting at a royal standing of some sort.

The first woman was tall like the man at her side, standing at around 8-9 feet, and Naruto noticed that some of her features looked similar to his own, the main ones being pale skin with a sinisterly hungry smile adorning her face. She was adorned with black gossamer robes, with golden ornamentation draped around the shoulders, and a dull golden headdress carved in the shape of a skull. Her hair was white and spilled out of the headdress and down her back, and gripped in her hand was a spear with a massive bladed head glowing with purple energy.

On the man's other side was the second woman who looked identical to the other, except that her colors were that of light instead of darkness, and she was at least a foot or two shorter than her sister. She was clothed in thin white robes marked with golden runes and seals etched into the fabric, a gleaming gold headdress of elaborate design on her head masking the upper half of her face. Also unlike her sister, instead of wielding a spear, she wielded a golden bow instead. While her darker sister had a sadistic smile on her face, her face was set in an emotionless yet regal frown.

Naruto glanced from sister to sister, and regardless of whether or not he would admit it to others, he would not deny that they were attractive, beautiful even.

He could see their lips moving, apparently conversing with the beaten man kneeling before them. Despite his current position, the old man still seemed somewhat defiant to what they were telling him. The black-robed woman's smile began to slip downward into a sneer, as she appeared to remark something that angered the downed man. He retorted angrily, his ringed eyes gleaming for the briefest of moments, before being roughly backhanded by the armored man between the two women.

The white-robed woman said something to him, causing him to step back between the two sisters. She knelt down and spoke to the downed man, but he simply shook his head and set his expression firmly as he sat up as best he could. He said something defiantly, causing the black-robed woman to scoff. She barked an order at the knights, each one readying themselves. The white-robed woman formed an arrow out of golden energy and nocked it in her bow, aiming for the downed man.

The armored prince gripped his polearm and began channeling electricity through the weapon into the blade, while the white-robed woman pulled her arrow back and let it fly, sinking it into the shoulder of the auburn-haired man. A second later, an identical arrow embedded itself into the opposite shoulder as the prince lunged forward and slashed the lightning enhanced blade across the downed man's chest, following up with a mirrored blow on the opposite side that left a bleeding X across his target's chest.

The Hyuuga lying on the ground a few feet away started yelling out, possibly even the other man's name for all Naruto knew. What Naruto could see was that the other man was showing a mixture of rage, sorrow, hatred, and regret all at the same time on his face.

By this time the auburn-haired man had five arrows piercing his body, as well as multiple gashes littering his skin enough to stain his robes with red. The white-robed woman raised her bow once more with arrow nocked, only for the black-robed woman to raise a hand to stop her. She appeared confused for a moment, but when seeing the hungry grin on the black-robed woman's face, she lowered her bow and let the arrow dissolve into energy. The black-robed woman walked forward slowly, the armored prince pausing in his own strike to lower his weapon and stand aside, the lightning leaving his blade as he went.

When she stood in front of the auburn-haired man, her smile got wider as she gripped her spear in both hands and raised it high. Then she brought it down, her own grin somewhat mimicked on Naruto's greedily watching face.

 **"ENOUGH!"**

Just as the tip of the spear's blade began to pierce the downed man's chest, the scene froze and began to crack. Naruto raised an eyebrow as the cracks began to widen all around him until finally the scene shattered.

Naruto glanced around, taking in his new surroundings. No longer was he on a coastline, but now what appeared to be a sewer of sorts. He was standing on top of water about 6-8 inches deep, and he frowned in response. Naruto turned to look behind him, and found himself staring at a massive cage with a paper labeled "seal" over the locking mechanism. The only thing he could see within the shadows of the cage was a massive glowing red eye with a slit pupil, staring at him with clearly palpable rage.

Naruto smirked and offered a mocking bow.

"So, the infamous 'Nine-Tailed Demon Fox' decides to grace its humble jailor with its presence after so long," Naruto drawled with gums bared. "I admit it's been a while, so long in fact that I almost forgot what your voice sounded like after hearing it that one time when you decided to call for my death."

A loud growling noise emanated from the cage, the pupil of the crimson eye dilating for the briefest of moments.

 **"Believe me, there is nothing I would desire more than your death you little monkey,"** the Kyuubi snarled. **"After all, the sooner you die, the sooner I am freed from this seal."**

"And who's to say I wouldn't have found some way to take you straight to the afterlife with me by the time I die?" Naruto replied. "Though to be fair, I'm pretty sure you'll be going directly to purgatory while I'll be ascending to the heavens, but that's beside the point."

The Kyuubi stared incredulously at its host for a moment.

 **"You seriously think you're going to heaven? After everything you've done so far?"**

"Well, what is heaven for some might be hell for others, no?"

 **"Well, last I checked, heaven was barred to those who committed murder. And you, my puny little jailor, are most definitely a murderer! Not only that, but there are a number of other crimes that you have committed! Shall I list them off for you in case you've forgotten? Plotting to murder and steal, forgery, treason against your village, among other things!"**

"Merely semantics. I am no murderer, but rather I am one who purges the unworthy. I was single-handedly chosen by the Gods to pass judgement upon mankind, and separate the savages from the ascendants. As for the rest of my so-called 'crimes,' a crime is only defined by the moral code of those in power as well as those around them."

The Kyuubi let out a bout of mocking laughter, it's eyes glowing brighter.

 **"You? Chosen by the Gods?!"** The Kyuubi faltered in its speech as it began laughing once more. **"You truly think you're doing something good for this world, don't you?"**

"Of course I am. I am a promethean, the one destined to become the light that will guide humanity out of the abyss that is their impotence."

 **"And what would you do then, if humanity has no desire to be saved in the first place?"** the Kyuubi replied, it's fit of laughter having ended.

"Then they will be dragged into the light whether they desire it or not, or they will burn with the rest of these heathens."

The fox chuckled mockingly, stretching for a moment before padding closer into the light and sitting back on its haunches.

 **"How could you possibly hope to achieve something like that in the first place? You're merely human, incapable of of something of such a grand scale in the world. No one is."**

Naruto's eyes narrowed, one of them twitching for a brief instant. Then his face relaxed and he smirked.

"Yet you would not know of such things, for you are after all a demon."

The fox's eyes narrowed, the crimson irises glowing brighter as the it's anger increased.

 **"A demon am I?"** the Kyuubi growled. **"You truly believe that I am a demon?"**

Naruto's smirk widened.

"It is within your name is it not? Kyuubi no Yoko?" he responded.

 **"An ignorant title given by idiotic humans that fear what they can't and never will understand!"** the massive fox roared.

The fox shook its head and calmed itself before looking back down at Naruto with hate clear in its glare. It stood up as its fur began to glow with a blood-red light, and the massive form of the Kyuubi no Yoko began to shrink and change. Naruto watched with interest, before beholding the form that the beast had took, at which point his visible interest faded instantly.

Standing before Naruto was a woman who was slightly shorter than him, clothed in a crimson kimono with a white Uzumaki swirl on the back, with long fiery red hair that fell down past her waist. She stared at him with a frown, her red eyes staring directly at him.

Naruto stared at the red-haired woman within the cage, his hand clenching for a moment.

"What sort of game are you playing now, beast?"

The woman gave a disarming smile as she leaned against one of the bars of the cage.

"Why would I need any sort of game to look upon my own son?" she asked.

Naruto's eye twitched as the water at his feet began to ripple outwards from him. Faint hairline cracks formed on the walls, but expanded no further.

He raised a hand off to the side and materialized a polearm in his hand. This weapon was different from the one he actually had, being much simpler and sleeker in design. It had a wide silver blade attached to the end of the weapon, connected to the shaft by a golden ring imbedded in a piece of dark metal that formed the guard. At the base of the guard was a grip fashioned from emerald wood with twin golden rings at the ends of the grip. Naruto took the weapon in hand and stepped closer to the cage.

The woman smiled and reached her hand out as far as the seal would allow towards Naruto as he stopped directly in front of the cage.

"You dare?"

The woman's smile faded as she adopted a surprised expression.

"Dare what?"

Naruto's face contorted in fury as he raised the weapon, much to the woman's shock.

"You dare to take the form of THAT WOMAN IN FRONT OF ME!?"

Naruto lashed out with the polearm, jabbing it forward to attempt to impale the woman. She quickly retracted her hand and ducked to the left to avoid the stab. Naruto lunged forward, polearm stabbing through the air multiple times as the woman kept dodging. Just as he was about to step forward and attack again, Naruto froze and looked up, noting for the first time how close he was to walking straight through bars of the cage. Looking back down at the now smirking woman, Naruto sneered and stepped back.

Glaring at the grinning woman, Naruto raised a hand and clenched his fingers into a fist. Immediately pitch-black chains with spikes and razor-sharp hooks on the ends shot out of the water and encroached upon the woman. One by one, they began to wrap around her body, the ends of the chains impaling deep into her flesh. Despite this however, the woman refused to offer any expression except for deep loathing.

Naruto gestured with his hand, the chains following his gesture and forcing the woman to kneel on the ground. Despite her defiance, the woman winced slightly as the hooks of the chains dug further into her body. She glanced up at Naruto, her pupils morphing into a familiar slit as she glared at her jailor.

"You would dare impersonate that wretched whore who calls herself my mother?"

The humanoid fox smirked, still glaring defiantly up at Naruto.

"What's wrong little jailor?" she asked mockingly. "Does somebody have mommy issues?"

Naruto snarled angrily, clenching his fist tighter. The chains coiled around the Kyuubi's body began tightening, the spikes along the chain links digging into her flesh. Naruto snapped his fingers, causing two chains to erupt from the ceiling and wrap themselves around the Kyuubi's neck, hooking themselves into the back and side of her neck. She coughed, gasping for a brief moment before grinning.

"Well, seems someone takes after mommy in regards to the S&M fetish," she remarked.

Immediately she wheezed, desperately trying to pull air into her lungs as the chains around her neck tightened like a noose. Naruto smirked as blood began running down her neck from her mouth while she gasped for air.

"If that were the case, then wouldn't that make you the slave then?" he replied with a gum-baring grin.

He watched as her eyes began to water and her skin began to pale before snapping his fingers once again. The chains, while still lodged in her neck, loosened to a degree that she wouldn't slip into unconsciousness. The Kyuubi inhaled and exhaled frantically before calming down, her hateful glare returning in full force.

"When I finally get out of here," she hissed. "I'll look forward to tearing you apart piece by piece."

Naruto stared at her, taking in her bowed and arguably submissive stance before him. His smile got wider as he chuckled for a moment. The Kyuubi stared at him in confusion as his chuckling increased in frequency before bursting into loud gleeful laughter that echoed throughout the sewer-like area they were currently occupying.

"I'm sure we've already gone over this. You are never leaving here unless it is to be dragged to hell. Do you understand?" Naruto replied mockingly, speaking slowly as if talking to a small child.

The Kyuubi snarled in fury, straight white teeth morphing into animalistic fangs as her entire eye glowed crimson, sclera and all. Naruto smirked as she thrashed in her bonds for several minutes before they tightened once more. Naruto snapped his fingers, and one by one, the majority of the chains hooked into the Kyuubi began to release, the sickening sound of flesh being torn resonating through the room with the release of each chain.

Finally, only six chains remained attached to the Kyuubi, one on each of her arms, one on each of her scapula, and two hooked into her neck. The ends of the chains slowly started to rise from the floor and up the wall, moving upward until the chains hung from the ceiling. Naruto clenched his fingers on both hands and mimed a lifting motion, causing the chains to reel in the Kyuubi, her arms stretching out to both sides and forcing her into a stationary position. The humanoid fox winced and grit her teeth as the chains slowly pulled her into a position akin to that of a crucifixion within the air.

Naruto unclenched his fingers and let his hands fall to his sides, a smile on his face as he observed his handiwork. The Kyuubi winced and tried to move, only to fall still as pain lanced through her body. She glared downward at her jailor, but said nothing.

"Is something the matter up there?" Naruto said with a mocking grin. "No witty comebacks or clever remarks? Nothing?"

The Kyuubi's eyes glowed crimson, but she refused to say a word.

"This merely proves my point. You were once part of a single ultimate being, yet look at you now. An unstable force, with no true intelligence, a force that requires a guide to show you purpose," Naruto remarked. "Beasts such as yourselves will always be nothing but slaves to those who are strong enough to show you the way. And like the good pets you are, you obey."

The Kyuubi's eyes widened, the crimson glow fading as a part of her memory shot through her mind unbidden in response to his words. And from that memory came the unwelcome voice of a woman that she swore to despise for the rest of her existence.

 _"Nine-Tails, you are merely a momentary life, a temporary existence of coalesced energy… energy that once was a single, ultimate form! An unstable force, lacking in intelligence or sapience, you require a guide to show you purpose. That guide is the Uchiha! The tailed beasts are but slaves to those with blessed eyes. OBEY!"_

She shook her head despite the pain it caused, desperately trying to rid herself of the memory of accursed eye, the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

Naruto looked at her, noticing her shiver, scoffing to himself.

"Seems that you are not the animal you portray yourself as," he remarked. "You claim to be the Nine-Tailed Fox, strongest and most powerful of the Biju. Yet here you are, nothing more than a dog on a leash. How disappointing."

With that, Naruto turned and walked down the opposite hallway and disappeared into the shadows. The Kyuubi watched him leave, loathing evident on her face.

 **"Fine,"** she growled. **"I will allow you this small victory, but do not think that this is over, for it is not. Not in the slightest."**

Those words spoken, even if only for her own benefit, the Kyuubi closed her eyes and simply hung in the air, blood dripping from the chains into the water below as the mindscape was slowly shrouded in darkness.

 **"After all, there is still the one who holds my other half somewhere out there…"**

* * *

Naruto's eyes slowly opened before squinting in response to the crimson sunlight just starting to appear through his window. Groaning, he sat up and shook his head. Scratching the back of his neck, he glanced over to look at the clock beside him.

"6:18," he mused.

The Walrider formed out of Naruto's navel, pulling itself out of the marking for the Shiki Fujin on his stomach. The spirit looked at him for a moment before hissing softly. Naruto frowned in response.

"I am correct in assuming that the animal said something else after I left?"

The Walrider nodded.

"What did it say? More cryptic hogwash? Or something that could actually be useful?"

The Walrider shrieked in response.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. Host of my other half? Was the Kyuubi not completely sealed within him?

As he continued to think it over, Naruto could only conclude that the fox was (unfortunately) telling the truth. While it was true that the Uzumaki were the only known clan who could safely host the Kyuubi due to the magnitude and depth of their chakra, Naruto was only a half-blooded Uzumaki due to his biological father's genes diluting the potency of his Uzumaki blood. Not only that, but there was little chance that an infant, even an Uzumaki, could completely hold back the might of of the strongest Biju. Therefore, it made sense for Minato Namikaze to split the fox in two and seal both portions into infants or young children.

"The question is though," Naruto mused. "Who is the second Kyuubi jinchuuriki?"

A question with an impossible answer. He had not seen anyone else ostracized like he was as a child, so therefore the other jinchuuriki was never revealed to be a host or they were being kept hidden away as a sort of trump card.

Naruto promptly made it a goal to uncover the identity of the second Kyuubi jinchuuriki. A rogue player with the power of the fox, for even half of the Biju was still quite powerful indeed, could prove problematic in the future. He just hoped that the second host wasn't in the ANBU. He really didn't need someone who could possibly track him via the shared beast between them, especially when he was out hunting.

Shaking his head, Naruto stood up and stretched once more before heading to the closet to get dressed.

Once dressed in his usual attire, Naruto walked over to the kitchen and picked up the apron hanging on one of the oven dials. He tied it around his waist, pushed back his sleeves, turned on his radio, and got to work alongside the sound of orchestral music.

Naruto reached up to one of his cabinets and pulled out a baking sheet. Turning on the oven, Naruto lined the sheet with parchment paper. While the oven was preheating, Naruto opened the fridge and removed two eggs, a carton of half-and-half, and a small block of cheese. Turning to the bread basket, Naruto pulled out a medium-sized loaf of bread imported in from somewhere far off. He then grabbed a salt and pepper grinder and set them aside.

Taking a serrated knife, Naruto carefully stuck the blade about three-quarters of the way into the loaf and cut a circle into the bread. He then repeated the process on the other half of the loaf and removed two cylinders of bread. Naruto looked at them thoughtfully for a moment before sealing them in a bag and placing them back in the bread basket. He then took a grater and began to finely grate part of the cheese block into a small cup.

Naruto took one of the eggs in his hand and carefully cracked it in half over one of the holes in the bread. He then repeated the process with the other hole and the second egg, taking care not to break the yolk.

Opening the carton of half-and-half, Naruto measured out a tablespoonful and poured one into each egg hole. He repeated the process, only this time with a tablespoonful of the grated cheese. Naruto picked up the salt grinder and seasoned each egg with salt before doing the same with the pepper grinder. Taking the loaf carefully in his hands, Naruto transferred it to the baking sheet and then put the loaf in the oven. He twisted the dial on his timer for about twelve minutes, then began the next portion of the meal.

Naruto removed a skillet from one of the cabinets and set it atop a lit stove burner. He turned to the fridge and removed a sealed package of freshly sliced bacon. He inhaled the scent of the meat, satisfied at how fresh it was. After all, it was personally carved by Naruto last night.

He removed two strips of meat and laid them on the now heated pan, the meat beginning to sizzle and crackle as it began cooking. Naruto inhaled deeply, smiling serenely at the smell of the cooking meat. Taking tongs in hand, Naruto carefully flipped the bacon strips as they began to crisp up on either side. Once sufficiently cooked, Naruto removed the bacon from the pan and placed the strips on a paper towel-covered plate to let the grease soak off.

At that moment his timer went off. Naruto took a potholder in hand and carefully removed the baking sheet and loaf from the oven. Eying the eggs, Naruto was satisfied to see the whites set and the yolk still soft. Perfect. He took the loaf from the sheet and placed it on a cutting board. Taking the serrated knife up once more, Naruto placed the blade directly in the center of the loaf, right between the two egg-filled holes, and cut the loaf perfectly in half. Placing the two halves on a plate, Naruto then took the two pieces of bacon and laid them on the plate between the two halves, one piece of bacon overtop the other.

With a smile, Naruto took the plate over to the table and grabbed a cloth napkin and silverware. He looked at the Walrider with a smirk as the spirit eyed the meal.

"What the commoners call 'Eggs in a Basket,' served with freshly carved bacon," Naruto said.

Raising his fork and knife, Naruto cut into the toasted bread and egg and placed a portion in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, and smiled before taking a strip of bacon and biting into it. Naruto continued eating before pausing and looking at the Walrider for a moment.

"Go and find Brother Sum. Wait until he is alone and reveal yourself to him. Tell him, 'I recently learned from my tenant that there is another holding the other half of said tenant. If your contacts in ANBU can find anything regarding this second host, I would be most appreciative of it.'"

The Walrider nodded and darted out the window, dissipating into a barely visible cloud of bluish-black vapor and vanishing. Naruto watched the spirit leave as he picked up the empty plate and crossed over to the sink. He rinsed it off and set it aside, doing the same for his fork and knife.

Looking up at the clock on the wall, Naruto walked back over to his closet and opened the panel hiding his other four weapons. Removing the longsword from the hook it hung on, Naruto buckled the weapon and its scabbard to his belt and closed the panel. He then took his silver gauntlet and strapped it to his forearm and flexing his wrist to unsheath the blade, followed by the senbon launcher that he soon strapped to his other arm.

Naruto closed the closet and strode over to the door. Carefully closing the door, Naruto walked out the building and set off for Training Ground 13.

As he walked, he ignored the civilians for the most part as they carefully walked around him with nervous expressions on their faces. One thing did catch his notice though, and that was the sight of Sasuke's team. Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the sight of Haruno and another civilian-born Genin (one Naruto hadn't even bothered to learn the name of, much like most of his former classmates) wrestled with a surprisingly ferocious house cat with a ribbon on its ear. Off to the side, Sasuke looked on at the two with thinly-veiled irritation while their Jonin sensei simply smiled behind his mask and giggled quietly to himself while reading a familiar orange book.

Sasuke turned his head and caught sight of Naruto walking down the street. The blond-haired shinobi simply smirked at Sasuke and offered a small wave before continuing on his way, no doubt towards the training grounds to meet his team.

Sasuke returned the gesture with a nod before focusing back on his "team" that was still either fighting with the cat or reading smut. He groaned irritably, wondering if maybe he could convince the Sandaime to allow him to be solely apprenticed to someone, anyone at this point. Hell, he'd even take the psychotic woman in the trench coat with a blood fetish if he had to, just anywhere away from these three.

While Hatake was a competent and well-known shinobi, a competent teacher he was not, being chronically late and hopelessly addicted to his porn instead of actively teaching the three of them anything. And his "teammates"... Haruno was a devout fangirl, much to Sasuke's chagrin and disgust, and while skilled often preferred watching him train while sighing "lovingly" instead of training herself. In all honesty Sasuke found it a little creepy, much like Naruto had felt when he was told that Hinata used to stalk him from time to time. Kazuki was a bit better, actually wanting to be a shinobi despite the risks of death and/or insanity that it entailed, and he at least trained regularly. He hadn't shown any true specialization in anything, like Sasuke with Ninjutsu and Taijutsu/Kenjutsu or Naruto with poisons and psychological warfare, but he was reasonably competent. Unfortunately for him though, Kazuki (for some reason) had a crush on Sakura and thus often wanted to show Sasuke up in order to "win her favor" somehow.

This wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last, but Sasuke wished Naruto had been on his team. The blonde had shown himself to be extremely competent to Sasuke, plus the fact that they had opposite skillsets would have made it easier to cover their bases should they have needed to work together. Add in their semi-friendship and their occasional sparring matches due to their rivalry of sorts, and Sasuke could have lived with having a third teammate, possibly even Haruno if Naruto had terrified her into working out from time to time.

Sasuke sighed to himself at the thought. Sadly, it was not to be. He glanced back over at the back of the retreating blonde and noticed the Western-style sword hanging there. Since when had Naruto taken up swordsmanship? More importantly, how good was he at it? Sasuke simply smirked at the thought. The next time he saw Naruto, they were definitely having a Kenjutsu spar.

After all, what are rivals for if not to test your skills with them in a pseudo-deathmatch against one another?

* * *

Naruto strode into Training Ground 13 and glanced around. Noting only Sen sitting by the training posts, Naruto walked over towards her.

The green-haired girl was sitting with her legs crossed and her back against the wooden post, a katana leaning beside her on the pole and a spiral-bound notebook in one hand and a pencil in the other. At the moment, she was currently writing in the pages of the book, pausing for a moment or two to think before returning to her writing.

Naruto stepped up to the post beside her and leaned over, peering down at the open notebook. Sen glanced up at her teammate before shutting the book and storing the pencil in the spiral.

"I've already told you this before Naruto," she remarked with a small smile. "If you want to read it, you'll have to wait until it's published and go buy it like the rest of the village."

"Come now," Naruto replied. "What's the harm in a little bit of peer review beforehand?"

Sen merely shook her head and set the book down as she got to her feet, taking her katana in hand and attaching it to her waist.

"Isn't that what you said to me the first time we met? Back when you found me writing my first book?"

Naruto shrugged. "Perhaps, though given how often we seem to have this conversation, my memory could be a bit faulty."

"Since when have you had memory problems?" Sen asked with a smirk. "Is that a flaw I hear you admitting?"

Naruto scoffed and rolled his eyes, causing Sen to chuckle to herself.

"I was being hypothetical."

"Of course you were."

At that point, Ayato walked into the training ground, yawning slightly as he did so. He scratched his head for a second as he stopped beside Naruto and Sen.

"So do either of you have any idea why we're here so early besides just training today, or what?" he remarked. "Or why we're not doing any so-called 'missions' instead?"

Naruto frowned. "You'd rather be completing those errands and chores in place of training? You're a strange one."

"Hey, I'm not saying I'd rather do D-Ranks. I'm just mentioning the fact that it's early, alright?"

"Didn't stop some teams from having an early start of menial tasks for the day," Naruto remarked. "I just so happened to see Sasuke's team catching the cat of the Fire Daimyo's wife on the way here."

Ayato chuckled. "Yeah, well that bastard of a cat always tries to escape in the middle of the night nowadays, so the job for catching it is usually given to the earliest team in the mission office in an attempt to have it back at the Daimyo's palace before Madam Shinji wakes up."

"Not that it helps in any case," Sen said with a smirk. "That cat puts up quite a fight."

"You're not wrong there," Ayato replied.

Glancing over at Naruto, Ayato took notice of the sword hanging on his belt. While still sheathed, he could still take note of the straight shape of the blade (if the scabbard was anything to go by) that narrowed to a point as well as the straight golden crossguard and pommel with a hilt wrapped in black leather.

"Interesting choice in blade Uzumaki. Though why not use a katana like everyone else?"

"Since when have I ever wanted to be like 'everyone else' in my known lifetime Ayato?" Naruto replied with a small smile.

"Point taken," Ayato remarked, fingers idly brushing one of the twin wakizashi attached to his hip. "But why use that kind of a sword?"

Naruto's smile widened by a fraction.

"You'll see."

The moment those words left Naruto's mouth, the trio's sensei arrived in the training field with a katana strapped to her hip. Rize looked at her three students, noting that they had brought a sword like instructed.

"Good. You all can follow directions easily," she remarked.

Ayato rolled his eyes while the smile on Sen's face started to look a little forced. Naruto's eyes narrowed, a frown marring his face.

"As you already know, today we will be focusing on Kenjutsu. While I have at least partially trained two of you in this skill, Naruto on the other hand I have not," she said, brushing a few stray purple locks of hair out of her face. "So with this in mind Naruto, we will all spar with you using Kenjutsu in order to get a better idea of where your skill level lies."

She turned to look at the blonde, who at the moment had a hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

"Are you alright with this Naruto?"

"Of course."

"Very well," Rize replied. "Who wishes to spar with Naruto first then?"

Sen and Ayato exchanged a look between them before turning back to Rize.

"I'll go first," Ayato said.

"Good. Alright you two, stand across from one another," Rize replied. "You are to restrict your skills to purely kenjutsu and any chakra channeling techniques you might know at this time. Understand?"

Upon receiving a nod from Ayato and a brief incline of the head from Naruto, Rize and Sen backed away as Ayato and Naruto walked forward and stood facing the other. Ayato gripped the hilts of his wakizashi, Naruto taking the sheath of his blade in one hand while gripping the hilt with the other.

Once their sensei and teammate had backed up a fair distance away, the two young men nodded at each other and drew their swords in practiced movements. Ayato settled into a somewhat crouched stance with a weapon in each hand, one held conventionally while the other was held in a reversed grip. Naruto on the other hand held his blade tightly in his hand, drawing his fist closer to his chest and pointing the blade straight up while moving his free hand behind his back. Ayato noticed the movement of the free hand and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't go yanking any other weapons out Uzumaki," he warned. "This is a pure Kenjutsu match, understand?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed for a brief moment before his face lost the smirk it previously held in favor of calm, calculated seriousness.

"Clearly."

Ayato took note of the change, being somewhat surprised by it, but decided he preferred the serious attitude that Naruto was displaying in place of his usual methods of gum-baring grins and mocking comments. He really didn't want to end up losing his temper again against someone who was known for a violent temper.

They both stood facing off against each other, not moving a muscle in their stances. Rize raised a hand and brought it down.

 _"Sentou Kaishi!"_

Ayato lunged forward, slashing downward and from the side with his twin blades. With barely a facial reaction, Naruto took a step back and held his sword at an angle, locking his blade with the two incoming blades. Pushing back, Naruto broke the blade lock and lunged forward in a stab. Ayato stopped the tip of the incoming sword with one of his own, slashing from the side with his second.

Naruto pulled his sword back and once again locked blades, this time catching Ayato's blade at the point where his own dipped inwards before meeting the guard. He then pivoted the sword slightly to block the second blade, succeeding in locking the three blades together. Ayato responded by breaking the lock with his second blade and stabbing towards Naruto. Naruto responded by twisting his torso to avoid the stab and grabbing the blunt edge of the blade and yanking it further along its path. This motion caused Ayato to stumble slightly, while at the same time removing his sword from where it had caught on Naruto's blade.

Naruto stepped aside as Ayato stumbled past him before bringing his sword down in a downward slash. Ayato managed to regain his balance right as he crossed his blades behind his back, blocking Naruto's own and causing the sword to bounce off briefly.

Stepping back with sword held out at an angle by his side, Naruto eyed his opponent as Ayato flipped both of his weapons in a reversed grip.

The blue-haired shinobi ran at Naruto, unleashing slash after slash with his swords, attacking and reversing the grip before going straight into another slash. Naruto carefully sidestepped as many as he could, deflecting the ones he couldn't with carefully timed slashes and blocks of his own. Ayato continued his barrage until both swords were held in a conventional grip above his head and he brought them both down with great force.

Naruto immediately removed his left hand from behind his back and grasped the hilt of his sword, using both hands to swiftly block the twin strikes. Much to his shock, while managing to block it, the ground underneath his feet cracked and gave way slightly.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto forced back against the two blades and broke the blade lock. Ayato took a step back before noticing Naruto gripping his sword with both hands.

"Well, guess I got one thing right," he remarked.

"And that would be?" Naruto asked.

Ayato lifted a finger off of the hilt of his left sword and pointed at Naruto's.

"I got you to use both hands."

The blonde's eyes shot downward to his two-handed grip. Looking back up at Ayato, he removed his left hand and replaced it behind his back.

"It matters little. Besides, had I blocked that strike with only one hand, I'm pretty sure I would have to deal with a broken wrist if the ground beneath my feet is anything to go by."

Naruto stepped back, eying his opponent while reaffirming his stance.

"I'll admit, I underestimated your capabilities," Naruto remarked. "A minor error on my behalf. It is not an error that shall occur again."

Naruto flipped his sword horizontally in front of him and ran his free hand over the blade, causing it to begin sparking and crackling before pale blue lightning began pulsing in and out of the blade in the form of a spiral. Naruto replaced his hand behind his back and raised his electrically-charged sword in front of his chest. Ayato raised an eyebrow before smirking.

"So, you want to channel chakra eh? Alright, let's channel chakra then!"

Ayato flipped his wakizashi into conventional grips and began channeling chakra through the hilts and into the blades. After a few seconds of channeling, the blades sparked and ignited in flames.

With a small bout of joyous laughter and a grin on his face, Ayato shot forward and slashed in front of him in an X shape with the twin blades. Trails of fire followed the path of the attack, forcing Naruto to vanish and reappear behind Ayato. Ayato spun on the spot and lashed out with the right blade, launching a wave of flame right at Naruto.

Eyeing the flames dispassionately, Naruto raised his sword high and slashed downward. The end result was the lightning infused blade splitting the flame in half, followed by Naruto darting towards Ayato.

Naruto lunged forward stabbing his blade towards Ayato's neck, only for Ayato to cross his swords in front of his body and stop Naruto's attack from moving forward. Ayato leaned his head back as far as he could, the smell of ozone radiating off of the blade as the spiraling loops of electricity radiated before him. He glanced at Naruto to see a small quirk on one side of his mouth. His eyes widened, Ayato ducked immediately as the electricity circling Naruto's blade lanced out like an extension of the blade itself. Pushing against the charged blade, Ayato slashed at Naruto. The blonde simply vanished and reappeared a foot away, the blade of lightning dissipating back into the spiralling electricity surrounding his sword while he moved back into his "standard" stance.

Ayato stared at the blonde for a full minute before smirking.

"Alright then, two can play at that game!"

He raised his swords, the flames growing larger and hotter, and lashed out at the ground. The flames followed the trail of the blades, landing on the ground as Ayato seemingly turned his twin wakizashi into whips of fire.

Naruto glanced at the flaming whips forming from the blades of the twin swords before allowing a small smile to form on his face.

"Interesting," he mused. "You continue to surprise me Ayato Kirishima, and surprising me is no easy task. But your little surprises will not keep you from losing."

With a small flourish of the blade, Naruto held his sword out from his side and charged at Ayato. Ayato grinned somewhat madly as he lashed out with his fire whips.

As he ran towards him, Naruto slashed with his electrified blade as each lash came near him, the coils of electricity enhancing the cutting power further as Naruto cut through the tendrils of fire whenever they came close to hitting him. Once Naruto was closer, the whips vanished as the flames around Ayato's blades intensified. The blue-haired shinobi raised both swords high and slashed down towards Naruto.

Flipping his sword into a reversed grip, Naruto gripped the hilt tighter as the electricity began to coil around the blade faster and faster. Right as Ayato's blades were about to hit, Naruto slashed upwards to the left.

The twin blades flew out of Ayato's hands, the flames ceasing to exist the moment their source of chakra was cut off. Naruto then lashed out with a kick that sent Ayato sprawling. As he coughed to regain his lost breath, Ayato was cut off as Naruto's boot-clad foot pressed down on his chest while the point of Naruto's sword was less than an inch from his throat. He glanced up at Naruto to see the cold impassive look in his eyes, beads of sweat running down his face. Then Naruto opened his mouth and spoke a single word.

"Submit."

Ayato glared at him for a moment before closing his eyes and sighing.

"I submit."

The impassive expression on Naruto's face faded as a smirk formed on his face. Gripping the scabbard strapped to his belt, Naruto sheathed his sword with a quick flourish. Stepping off of his teammate, Naruto offered Ayato a hand. Ayato eyed Naruto for a moment before taking the offered hand. Naruto pulled him to his feet and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Like I said, you surprised me Ayato," Naruto remarked. "Your usage of Katon chakra is skilled, if a bit frenzied in usage."

Ayato smiled. "Well that's the thing about fires Uzumaki," he replied. "They're wild and out of control, but when focused they can be devastating."

"Indeed."

Rize glanced around the training ground from her position a few meters away, having moved back further with Sen once Ayato started channeling Katon chakra. She shook her head at the sight of the various cuts, burnt lashes, and general damage to the area. How Ayato was able to remain an ANBU without being the least bit subtle half the time was beyond her.

"Exemplary performances from the both of you," Rize called out. "Ayato, come back over to where we are and rest up. Sen, you take his place and stand opposite Naruto."

Sen nodded, closing her notebook and setting it at the base of the tree. Standing up, she crossed the field to stand where Ayato stood moments before. Ayato picked up his wakizashi and sheathed them before heading over to the tree to sit beside Rize, wincing and putting a hand on his chest where Naruto kicked him.

The two stood before each other, hand on the hilts of their respective swords.

"So Sen, should I unwittingly underestimate you like I did Ayato?" Naruto asked with a smirk. "Or do you have something in your arsenal that could surprise me?"

"Oh please Naruto, I'm a writer," Sen replied, matching Naruto's smirk with one of her own. "I always love to throw in a good twist every now and then."

Naruto nodded, schooling his face back into calm apathy after wiping the perspiration from his forehead. The two glanced at their sensei, who raised her hand in the air. In response, the two teammates gripped the hilts of their weapons and unsheathed them swiftly. Naruto settled into his now usual stance with sword held in front of his chest and the free hand behind his back, while Sen gripped her katana with both hands in front of her.

The second Rize dropped her hand and let out the familiar cry of _"Sentou Kaishi!"_ Naruto and Sen lunged at each other and locked blades.

As Sen pushed her blade against his, Naruto suddenly disengaged and pulled his sword back while stepping to the side. Caught off guard, Sen stumbled for a moment before spinning on her heel and slashing towards his legs. Naruto blocked the blow then lunged in for a stab, Sen twisting her body to avoid the stab before batting the blade away with her own and moving for a downward slash. Naruto sidestepped out of the way of the strike before vanishing.

The brief sound of crackling electricity was all the warning Sen had before Naruto's lightning-enhanced blade swung at her side. Naruto's strike landed, Sen's face contorting in pain and surprise.

Sen immediately burst into smoke, revealing a nearly bisected log in her place. The electricity spiralling Naruto's blade fizzled out as he lowered the sword. He raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Rize.

"Is Kawamari allowed? You did say this was a kenjutsu spar."

"Technically no, but I'm not going to worry about it," Rize replied.

Naruto glanced back down at the log before ducking to avoid a diagonal slash from his left. Sen continued her attack, raining down a barrage of swift blows at Naruto. The blonde spun his sword in his hand and began parrying her slashes with his own.

After deflecting the last attack, Naruto was forced to step to the side as Sen coated her blade in water and lashed out with a water whip. He glanced at the gash formed in the ground and smirked. As the whip came back around, Naruto's sword flared with electricity. With a swift slash, he dispelled the whip. Sen froze and winced in pain as the lightning traveled back to her, the water and blade acting as a conduit.

Naruto capitalized on the brief moment of weakness and lunged forward in a stab. Sen came back to her senses and ducked, rolling to the side and rising with a slash. She was forced to abandon the maneuver when Naruto raised his blade, still spiralling with lightning, to block her attack.

Sen backed up a few feet and held her sword in a readied position, a calculating gaze on her face as she observed Naruto.

"Your main element is Suiton it seems," Naruto remarked. "Therefore from an elemental standpoint, you are at a disadvantage against my Raiton, and thus you cannot attack while I am using my element, regardless if you are using your own element or not." He turned to regard her. "What will you do now, I wonder?"

The green-haired girl's eyes narrowed. Her mind made up, she removed a hand from the hilt of her sword and ran her palm along the flat of the blade. The blade began to glow a faint sky blue as she replaced her hand on the hilt. Sen charged at Naruto and leapt into the air, the tip of her blade pointed downward towards him. Naruto jumped back as Sen impaled her blade in the ground.

To Naruto's surprise, a pool of water expanded out from where the sword stabbed the ground. It wasn't very deep, being only a few inches at most, but it spanned a rather large radius. He glanced from side to side, then focused on Sen where she remained crouched where the sword was stabbed, her hands never leaving the hilt. She looked up at Naruto and smirked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow before darting to the side to avoid the large blade that formed out of the water where he was standing seconds earlier.

The large cleaver-shaped blade dispersed back into the water while Naruto eyed the pool with caution evident in his eyes. He then backed up as twin spikes of water formed and tried to stab at him. Sen's smirk got slightly wider at the sight.

By this point Naruto was resorting to dodging left and right, occasionally vanishing and reappearing in order to avoid the various blades and hook-ended chains that were forming from the water wherever he landed. He was finally forced to stop as scythe-shaped blades formed from the water and lunged at him from almost all directions, causing him to raise his sword and block with both hands.

Sen noticeably winced as he blocked, an action that Naruto immediately took note of. He vanished and reappeared a short distance away from the blades, sword still gripped in his hands. Sen glanced over at him as a multitude of chains were shaped from the water and lunged at him.

Naruto raised his sword with the tip pointed downwards as the electricity began to brighten and intensify in speed and volume. Right as the the chains were about to loop around him and restrain him, he gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands and dropped to one knees, driving the electrified blade into the water.

Instantly Sen began screaming as the electricity traveled through the water, electrocuting her while disrupting her constructs.

While Naruto was not as damaged as her in the midst of this, he himself was not entirely immune to its effects. He grit his teeth and reached behind his back and threw a kunai like a standard throwing dagger. The spinning blade struck Sen in the hand with the handle, forcing her to release the sword.

The water immediately lost cohesion and soaked into the ground. Sen fell to her knees, gasping and shaking her head. Naruto inhaled deeply and exhaled before stabbing the point of his sword into the ground and using it to pull himself to his feet. Once standing, he removed the sword from the ground and wiped the dirt on the point off onto the grass. Flicking his blade to the side to remove what the grass could not, Naruto gripped his scabbard and sheathed his sword with a small flourish.

Leaning down, he grabbed Sen by the arm and pulled her to her feet. Taking her arm over his shoulders, Naruto lead the semi-conscious girl back to their sensei and teammate. Once near their position, Naruto carefully set her down by the tree she had laid her notebook beside.

"She shouldn't have much in terms of lasting damage," Naruto said to Rize. "But if you have any experience in Medical Ninjutsu, it might not be a bad idea for you to check over her."

Rize nodded and knelt down beside the green-haired girl. Raising her hand, Rize's palm became coated in a layer of transparent green chakra. Rize moved her chakra-coated palm over Sen's body.

"She might have some bruises in the morning. Though given how limited my skill in Medical Ninjutsu is, we'll need to take her to the medical center later to be certain there won't be adverse effects from her electrocution."

As Sen began to come back to her senses, Rize turned to look at Naruto. Though he was trying to hide it, she could see him grimacing when he took a step.

"You should probably come with us Naruto. You did the same to yourself when you electrocuted Sen."

"Please sensei," Naruto remarked, frown on his face. "You, like most of the shinobi of this village, should probably know that due to my little demonic nuisance I will be completely healed by the next morning in the latest."

A small frown formed on Rize's face as she looked at her blond student.

"I trust I don't have to remind you that you have one last spar today and that would be against me?"

"I am aware of that."

"Then you know it would be irresponsible of me to spar against one of my students when they are still injured from a previous spar," Rize said.

"Yet we are shinobi, are we not?" Naruto replied. "In true battles, we do not receive the courtesy of waiting a day for our wounds to heal. Enemy shinobi do not hesitate, and will attempt to capitalize on any weakness they see, especially battle wounds. Therefore, we must be prepared for such situations in the event that they should occur."

Rize nodded and set her face into stony determination, Naruto following with the return of his calm demeanor. The sensei and student duo walked out to the center of the now very battered field and stood with a hand on the scabbards of their swords. Naruto closed his eyes and opened them, his cold eyes briefly showing the image of a brilliant vermillion eye with a slit pupil before fading as the faintest hint of the fox's chakra was felt by the three undercover ANBU.

Sen sat up a bit from her position at the tree and looked at Ayato, her wounds seemingly no longer troubling her.

"Naruto's going to lose. Badly."

Ayato nodded. "Considering that Rize trained with Kushina all the time, I'm with you on that one. Even if he recharges his reserves with the chakra of the Fox, it won't help against Rize. Physically he's still not at his usual one-hundred percent."

Sen turned her head and looked back out at the pair in the field. She sighed and resigned herself to the spectacle that was about to happen.

"Indeed. And Bijuu chakra only goes so far…"

Rize turned and glanced at Ayato.

"Would you do the honors Ayato?"

Ayato nodded and raised his hand. Naruto gripped the hilt of his sword while Rize stood calmly, her left hand on the sheathe of her katana and nothing else. Then Ayato dropped his hand.

 _"Sentou Kaishi!"_

Naruto drew his sword and assumed his usual stance. Rize merely shifted her foot slightly and brushed back a few stray hairs with her free hand. She then reached down and undid the _sageo_ binding the weapon to her waist and simply held it in her hand.

Neither combatant moved, Naruto still remaining in his stance while Rize looked at him. A small bead of sweat ran down his temple as he waited for her to move, to react, anything. Yet all she did was remain standing there, not moving. Sen and Ayato watched them, Ayato glancing down at Sen.

"Why hasn't Rize attacked yet?"

"She knows him Ayato," Sen replied. "She's waiting for him to make the first move, even if that means sparking his temper to do so."

Ayato grimaced. While having never been a part of the "cleanup crew" for Naruto's infamous blow-ups, he had seen the aftermaths of some of them.

"Depending on how much Rize intends on holding back, this could get ugly."

Indeed it could, for Naruto (while still keeping the calm expression on his face) was clearly beginning to show signs that his temper was beginning to fray. There wasn't much to go off of, but his eyes had changed, the pale blue vanishing as maroon bled into his irises. Rize did nothing except allow a small smirk to form on her face.

Having lost his patience, Naruto held his sword out to the side and charged at Rize. Raising the blade to his left as he ran, Naruto charged in with a downward slash at his sensei. Rize stood motionless as Naruto's blade approached her shoulder.

Then in a movement so quick that Naruto almost missed it, she lashed out with her still sheathed weapon and batted the sword aside while taking hold of the hilt of her own sword and unsheathing it in a swift motion. Naruto ducked to avoid the upward slash and retreated a few steps back.

Upon feeling something on his face, Naruto gently touched his cheek and was shocked to find a minute cut there with a faint trail of blood running down his skin. His eyes widened as he glanced back at Rize.

The purple haired woman flicked her blade to the side, ridding it of the small amount of Naruto's blood on the tip, before sheathing the weapon with the faint _-click-_ of the tsuba hitting the scabbard.

While Naruto stared in shock, Rize sighed and altered her stance slightly. Naruto noticed this and immediately gripped his longsword with both hands. Rize stared calculatingly at Naruto before carefully re-tying the _sageo_ around her waist and placing a hand on the hilt of her katana. She crouched slightly and leapt forward.

Unsheathing her katana, she quickly attacked with an upward slash followed by a downward strike before attacking with a reversed version of the previous attack. Naruto barely managed to deflect the quartet of slashes, with the fourth knocking his sword out of the way and breaking his two-handed grip. As his sword was batted aside, Rize gripped her katana with both hands as the blade became shrouded in white-hot flames. She then brought the blade down in a diagonal slash, a trail of fire following the strike.

Naruto vanished and reappeared to his left, panting slightly as he glanced down at his chest and brushed a diagonal line of soot off of his chest with clear irritation on his face. Rize merely gave him a calculating look as she gripped the scabbard of her katana and carefully sheathed the weapon.

"I'm surprised you managed to dodge that, especially when you've already been injured from a previous fight," Rize remarked. "If that had been anyone else, their torso would have been sliding off their body along that line you just brushed off."

Naruto's collected expression cracked slightly as he smirked. Gripping his longsword, the blade erupted with spiralling electricity as he lunged forward to stab his sensei where she stood.

Rize raised an eyebrow as she undid the _sageo_ with a single finger and gripped her blade. She unsheathed her blade and unleashed a diagonal slash as her blade was wreathed in lightning. Naruto's eyes widened as her blade parried his strike before she dashed forward in a spinning slash. He sidestepped to avoid the blow as she lowered her katana and held it and the sheath in front of her and began slowly sheathing the weapon. Naruto turned and charged at her, longsword slashing downward just as the weapon sheathed.

 _-Click-_

Naruto fought down the yell on his tongue as pain lanced through his side. He stumbled, almost falling to one knee as blood dripped down the side of his torso. Raising a hand, he felt the wound and pulled his hand back, staring at the blood staining it with shock.

Rize stared emotionlessly at her student, sheathed katana still in hand. Naruto grimaced and grit his teeth before standing back upright, still grasping the hilt of his sword tightly.

Electricity began to dance along the blade of his sword as he raised the weapon and brought it down, launching a bolt of lightning from the blade as it moved.

Rize unsheathed her katana and coated the blade in lightning before raising it with both hands and slashing straight down, splitting the bolt into twin halves that continued past her and struck the trees a few feet away.

 _(Across the village, Kakashi suddenly got the feeling that somebody had inadvertently copied one of his moves, which he found rather ironic given his title of "Copy-Nin")_

The purple-haired woman eyed the damage done by the bolt, katana still unsheathed in her hand, before turning back to look at Naruto as the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end.

Naruto had his sword raised high, torrential amounts of lightning coiling around the blade, flowing in and out of the weapon as he continued charging it with more energy. With a loud cry, Naruto drove the sword into the earth and held it there.

Rize observed his actions before noticing the ground cracking underneath her feet. Utilizing a small portion of her full speed, she darted to the side as a massive pillar of lightning erupted from the ground. She stopped a couple feet away, then shot off as a second pillar broke through the ground. Rize continued dodging left and right, avoiding the immense bolts as she did. Once dodging the sixth column of electricity, she ran towards Naruto and bashed him in the hand with the empty scabbard of her katana.

Naruto bellowed and let go of the sword, immediately causing the electricity to fizzle out on the blade and the pillars of lightning to disperse into nothingness. He looked up at his sensei, panting loudly as exhaustion set in, and found the point of a katana blade shrouded in fire and lightning pointed right at his face.

"I wouldn't recommend continuing," Rize remarked. "I can't have you dying of blood loss on me, not to mention you probably just wasted the last of your chakra on that technique, so do us both a favor and simply submit. We'll patch you up, then give you an evaluation of your performance, alright?"

Naruto stared at the katana, marveling briefly at the dual elements coating the blade, before sighing and closing his eyes.

"Very well," he said tiredly. "I submit."

The flames and electricity vanished from the blade as Rize spun the katana over the back of her hand and sheathed it with the now familiar _-click-_ of the tsuba hitting the scabbard. She re-tied the _sageo_ around her waist and let go of the weapon. She then held out a hand to the kneeling blonde.

For a brief moment, Naruto considered brushing the hand aside until he was forced to think of his injuries as pain set in from his chakra coils. Swallowing his pride, he took the offered hand and allowed Rize to help him to his feet. Once he was standing, Rize carefully supported him and helped him limp back to where Sen and Ayato were waiting.

The green-haired girl stood up from where she was sitting and walked over to Naruto, helping him sit with his back leaning against the tree. She raised her hands as pale green chakra formed over her palms. Sen began slowly moving her hands over his body. Naruto winced and went to shift his position, only for Sen to grab his shoulder and force him to stay still.

"If you keep moving like that, you'll just keep reopening your wounds and forcing me to keep healing them," Sen said disapprovingly.

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but was stopped when Sen gently smacked him in the head.

"Don't say a word," she warned. "Just shut up, sit still, and let me heal you."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, but he complied regardless. Rize moved to stand in front of Naruto.

"Alright, here's what I can fathom so far in terms of your skills Naruto."

The blond looked up at her while Sen kept healing him with Medical Ninjutsu.

"Go on."

"Based on your performances against Ayato and Sen, you seem to prefer using a primarily defensive stance when using Kenjutsu, keeping a hand free behind your back in case you need to pull out another weapon to surprise your foe," Rize remarked. "You also seem to rely less on psychological warfare and what some would call 'dishonorable tactics' when using your sword for the most part, adopting a more collected composure than what you are normally seen using in battle. The design of your sword is more suited for slashing and stabbing, with both edges being sharpened to increase its lethality."

Rize put a hand on her chin and began pacing slowly in front of the trio, Sen still healing Naruto while the blonde's eyes never left Rize's form.

"Your channeling of elemental chakra is unorthodox, but no less effective. You used your element, lightning, to the fullest use possible whenever necessary, from enhancing the cutting power of your sword to cut through attacks to using shape manipulation of the lightning for surprise attacks. You also can launch the electricity like a projectile similar to most Katon users, as well as being able to channel that energy through the ground in order to control the battlefield."

She continued pacing around them, her left hand leaning on the pommel of her katana.

"You also are very analytical in battle, being able to discern a weakness with Sen's Suiton technique and take advantage of it within seconds of discovering it. Your willingness to harm yourself in the process also shows determination, especially in regards to defeating your opponent."

Rize stopped and turned to look down at Naruto.

"However, you are arrogant, as shown when you grew cocky after defeating Sen and Ayato and thus believing that you could beat me despite my superior skill and your self-inflicted injuries from defeating Sen. You also seem to become more reckless when using a blade, taking unnecessary risks that under normal circumstances you would not have taken unless certain you had several backup plans and an escape route if necessary. Your chakra reserves aren't excessively large like most jinchuuriki, so continued usage of elemental channeling can severely drain your reserves and leave you exhausted and helpless. Not to mention you recklessly used your Bijuu's chakra as a quick recharge, which strained your coils due to your inexperience in wielding the Fox's chakra."

Rize knelt down in front of Naruto.

"In conclusion, while you are indeed skilled with your sword, your arrogance could get you killed. You're not suited for taking part in prolonged battles in the open, and while you could protect yourself well enough for backup to arrive, sticking to your usual tactics of poisons and ambush tactics may be best."

Her piece said, Rize stood up as Sen helped Naruto to his feet.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to give up Kenjutsu. I'm just saying that you should keep it as a secondary skill, a backup in case toying with their minds and attacking from the shadows fails and you are caught in the open."

Naruto stared at her for a moment before looking down at the ground for a moment, the gears in his mind turning faster than ever. He looked back up at his sensei.

"I shall keep that in mind."

"Good. Are you all healed?" Rize asked.

Naruto felt his side, feeling only a very dull ache where Rize had slashed him earlier, as well as a phantom pain in his chakra coils. Checking the rest of his body he looked back at her.

"As far as I am aware, I am healed. Anything that was missed or incomplete will correct itself in an hour or so thanks to my little demonic nuisance."

"Good." Rize turned to look at Ayato, then at Sen, then back to Naruto. "Then I'd say that this training session is concluded for now. We will not be taking any missions today, so I want all of you to rest up and hone whatever skills you think might need work. Return here tomorrow afternoon at 1:30, and we'll see about doing some missions to earn you all some income."

"Pff. 'Missions,'" Ayato muttered under his breath. "More like overglorified chores that the civies are too lazy to do themselves."

"Agreed," Naruto murmured in reply. "It's shameful that the village is wasting precious manpower and resources to simply cater to the whims of the shallow-minded imbeciles who live here and are too weak to even be a part of our military."

"You'd think that with all the changes to the Academy structure, we'd have the students doing D-ranks in order to build experience before sending the fresh Genin on lower level C-ranks until they're deemed reliable enough for higher level C-ranks," Sen remarked, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Rize sighed and shook her head. As much as she would like to agree with her team, as their acting sensei she had to at least pretend to like the situation, as well as keep them on task while on said "missions" so that something didn't happen to give them a bad reputation. (The main examples included keeping Ayato from mouthing off to clients whenever they seemed to think themselves better than him, and more importantly keeping Naruto's temper under control so he didn't beat the client to death in a rage-induced frenzy if they insulted him or made references to his jinchuuriki status)

"Whatever your feelings on D-ranks, we still need to do them," Rize remarked, eliciting a groan from Ayato, a sigh from Sen, and a frown with narrowed eyes from Naruto. "Right then, you're all free to go."

Sen nodded, bidding Naruto and Ayato farewell before walking to the street, her notebook open once more as she wrote while walking. Ayato gave a brief nod in Naruto's direction, offered a two-fingered salute to Rize, and walked in the opposite direction as Sen. Naruto glanced at his sensei on last time before walking off in the direction that he came from when entering the field.

A small smile formed on his face when he saw Sasuke's team chasing after Madam Shinji's cat for the second time that day.

"Having fun Sasuke?"

The last of the Uchiha clan (disregarding the traitor who eliminated the clan in the first place) looked over at the approaching blonde and smirked.

"Of course not. You're the one stuck with a competent team while I'm stuck with a fan-girl, a lovestruck civilian, and a mentally disturbed sensei with a love of reading porn."

Sasuke glanced around to make sure no one was looking at him directly before turning back to Naruto and grabbing the blonde's shoulders with a pleading expression on his face.

"Trade. Trade please! I don't care how you do it, but I want you to be swapped for that fan-girl right now! I need someone competent at killing things on this team!" Sasuke whispered, literally begging as he did, his eyes wide and manic.

"I wish I could Sasuke, but the sad thing is that not only would I subject Sen and Ayato to the screeching of that sullen wench," Naruto replied. "But there would also be the fact that both teams would be short a member due to one of those teammates having a small accident after the swaps took place."

"Fine by me, I'll work alone with you if I have too!"

"I'm sorry my friend, but there's nothing I can do," Naruto said, carefully removing Sasuke's hands from his shoulders before putting his own hand on the shaking Uchiha's shoulder. "Besides, if I did swap to your team, the mindless cattle that make up this village's populace will rant and rave at having me on your team where I can somehow 'corrupt' you."

Sasuke sighed and hung his head briefly.

"Dammit. Well, it was worth a try at least."

Sasuke's eyes were then once more drawn down to the sword strapped to Naruto's side.

"Since when did you practice Kenjutsu?"

"Since my sensei thought it would be a good idea for me to branch out in the event I'm caught in the open where some of my tricks don't work," Naruto replied.

"How good are you?"

"Good enough to handle myself in a fight, but not enough to be upfront with you."

"I see. Regardless, we'll have to spar sometime. Just Kenjutsu, nothing else. That goes for chakra channeling too."

"We'll see. My schedule is a bit full at the moment, but when we both have some down time we'll have to have that spar."

"Good."

The faint sound of an angry animal screeching was heard a short distance away. Seconds later the duo heard the yowling of the cat Sasuke's team was chasing. Sasuke sighed at the sound and held up three fingers, bringing them down one at a time until they were all clenched into a fist. Right at that moment, Kakashi Hatake seemingly appeared out of nowhere, his single visible eye looking at Sasuke lazily while that same orange book was held open in his hand. Unnoticed to Kakashi, one of Naruto's eyes twitched at the sight of the book, his smile now looking slightly forced.

"You know Sasuke, it's not really good character for a shinobi to leave his teammates behind to complete the mission without helping them," the silver-haired Jonin drawled.

"This is the third time we've done this mission today Kakashi," Sasuke retorted. "Not to mention Haruno and the lovesick idiot are useless enough on other missions, so they need to pull their weight with this one."

"Now now Sasuke," Kakashi said, his eye closing as if he was smiling under his mask. "You shouldn't talk down on your teammates like that."

"It's not talking down if it's the truth," Sasuke growled.

Kakashi ignored his response and turned to look at Naruto. It was still hard for the former ANBU to be able to comprehend that the current Naruto had indeed originated from the happy, if exceedingly lonely, child from years ago. Yet another thing that the civilians had to answer for, taking a pure and innocent child and inadvertently corrupting it until all that remained was a bitter young man with an extremely volatile temper, a form of superiority complex, and a hint of sadism.

"So you're the infamous Naruto Uzumaki," he remarked.

"I am," Naruto replied cooly. "But I do not believe we have personally met, though I have heard of your reputation, Copy-Nin."

"And I have heard of yours as well Uzumaki. But enough about that." Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, then moved his gaze back to Naruto. "I wasn't aware you were acquainted with one of my students."

"Sasuke is a competent shinobi, and skilled in his chosen fields," Naruto remarked with a shrug. "Therefore he has a degree of my respect, and we occasionally spar to test our skills against one another."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and looked back at Sasuke. Sasuke nodded in confirmation. He then turned back to Naruto.

"Well, I'm glad that the two of you have some sort of friendly rivalry going on to keep things interesting," he said with a smile, his eye closing as he did. "I'd love to stay and chat a little longer, but I think Sakura and Kazuki just managed to capture Tora. So we'll have to cut this short to go return the cat to its owner."

"Let's just hope that the little bastard doesn't escape within five minutes again," Sasuke murmured under his breath, causing Naruto to chuckle softly in response.

"In that case, I bid you farewell then," Naruto replied. "Sasuke, we'll need to plan our next spar whenever you get the chance."

Sasuke nodded as he turned to follow Kakashi back to his teammates, both of whom looked a little worse for wear due to the cat's claws. Naruto chuckled at the sight before turning and walking in the direction he was going in the first place, heading off down the road towards his apartment.

As he walked, Naruto idly reached down with his sword and partially unsheathed the blade, inspecting the weapon carefully while several civilians in his path paled and immediately crossed to the other side of the street to continue onward. He gently tapped a finger on the edge of the blade, frowning slightly.

"It appears that I'll need to run some maintenance on my sword. A blade should never be as dull as it is now."

Naruto sheathed the blade and continued walking. While striding towards his destination, he paused when he caught sight of another shinobi walking towards his general direction from one of the nearby training grounds.

She was wearing a white kimono-like shirt with long loose sleeves, with pants of the same color. A navy-grey apron was tied around her waist, and her feet were clad in standard black shinobi sandals. She wore a Konoha forehead protector with black cloth around her head, her dark brown hair tied in a loose ponytail a few inches above the end with her bangs framing her face. An expression of calm dislike was clear on her face, her pale pupiless eyes uncaring of that which lay around her.

Naruto wasn't quite sure if this was true or not, but based on previous evidence seen in Hinata and other women of the clan, they were rather gifted by the gods in terms of figure, and this Hyuuga was no exception to the rule.

She walked out onto the road and paused, seemingly noticing Naruto for the first time. Naruto paused and stood before her, a single eyebrow raised.

"You are Naruto Uzumaki, correct?"

"I am. But while you know me, I do not know you," Naruto replied. "So could you extend that same courtesy to me and introduce yourself?"

"Of course. I am Naomi Hyuuga of the Hyuuga clan."

"I see. I thought I recognized your eyes."

"They are our most defining trait after all," Naomi remarked.

"That is true, the other being your attitudes and your strength."

"The same attitudes you claimed to admire a few weeks ago during the final exams for the Academy?"

"Exactly."

Naomi eyed the blond shinobi before him, briefly glancing over his attire and marveling at how similar it was to her own, except more ornate and elegant while Naomi's was quite plain.

"I also heard that you severely beat down our clan heiress," Naomi said. "Quite viciously I might add, proclaiming her to be weak in front of the entire graduating class."

"That is true," Naruto admitted. "Please don't tell me you're one of those dullards in the Branch family who is fond of her, thus wanting to fight me for her 'honor' or something like that?"

Naomi briefly twitched at the mention of the Branch family before relaxing.

"While I am indeed a member of the Branch family, I hold no fondness for Hinata _-sama_."

"Yet you add the _-sama_ suffix to her name nonetheless?"

"It is expected of me, and though I am loath to say it, I must."

"The clan elders expect you to pay homage to a pathetic weakling just because she's of a higher status than you?"

Naomi smirked. "Not necessarily. We have to add the suffix if only for the sake of tradition. Believe me when I say this, amongst members of the Main family the general opinion of Hinata _-sama_ is identical to your own."

"Seems I was right to give my respect to the clan after all," Naruto mused. "The strong in the Hyuuga thrive, while the weak die off."

"Indeed," Naomi agreed. "That is indeed our fates, just as it was yours to rise above the expectations of the more narrow-minded ones in the village."

"You know of the beast?" Naruto asked, eyebrow raised.

"We of the Hyuuga all have knowledge of the Fox due to the Byakugan," Naomi replied. "We can see the seal marked on your chakra network, and we are informed of it when we first notice it. However, that does not mean we are fools who see you for the beast you contain."

"Congratulations then," Naruto said wryly. "Your clan is smarter than a good seventy-three percent of the civilian populace, as well as about forty-five percent of the shinobi forces."

"I'm honored to confirm what we already knew amongst the clan," Naomi said with a smirk.

"Indeed. Though I am curious, why do you harbor such dislike for Hinata? I know my reasons, but what about you?"

Naomi glanced at her feet and clenched her fists tightly. Naruto took note of the action and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Tell you what, we'll go down the street a bit, sit down somewhere and I'll buy you a drink. Then you can feel free to talk at your leisure."

Naomi nodded and followed Naruto down the road a short ways to one of the higher-end bars along the sidewalk.

Once flashing their headbands, the duo walked in and sat down at one of the booths. A waitress came over at that point with a notebook in hand. Naomi glanced down at the menu and looked back up at the woman.

"A small bottle of sake please."

After jotting down Naomi's order, she turned to Naruto, who was still perusing over the menu with a thoughtful look in his eye. Glancing back up, Naruto set the menu down.

"I'll have a glass of Chardonnay," he said with a small smile.

The waitress wrote down his request and walked off, throwing a wink in Naruto's direction. Once she had left, Naruto's smile morphed into a frown of disgust. Naomi shook her head.

"Popular with the ladies, eh Uzumaki _-san_?

"Please don't insinuate anything about me and her," Naruto growled. "She's… too weak for my tastes. Far too fragile."

"I suppose you are right," Naomi remarked. "So, wine this early in the afternoon?"

"What can I say? I'm feeling a bit indulgent today," Naruto replied. "I also happen to enjoy the taste over sake, no offense to your own tastes."

"None taken. What's one man's favorite brew is watered down swill for another," Naomi said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I can at least tell that unlike some of the shinobi in this village, you at least seem to have a bit of class compared to the rest."

Naruto merely smirked and nodded his head as the waitress returned with a bottle of sake and a saucer, as well as a wine glass and an accompanying bottle. After setting the sake and saucer in front of Naomi, she removed the cork on the bottle and poured the white wine into the glass and set it in front of Naruto. Naruto smiled and nodded in thanks as she walked away, the smile vanishing the moment she was out of sight.

"If you dislike her advances so much, why not let her know?" Naomi inquired, pouring herself a saucer of sake.

"The old saying about catching flies with honey rather than vinegar does hold some truth to it," Naruto replied, lifting his glass and taking a sip.

The two sat there for a few moments more, simply enjoying their drinks. After Naomi downed the third saucerful, Naruto spoke.

"So, why do you harbor hatred for Hinata Hyuuga?"

Naomi frowned and looked down at the table. The veins around her eyes bulged for a brief moment as her Byakugan activated from the rage she felt, before settling back to normal. She poured another saucer of sake and drank it down. Setting the saucer on the table, she looked back up at Naruto.

"Not only is she weak, but she caused my father's death."

"Caused your father's death?" Naruto asked, taking a sip of his wine.

"Yes," Naomi replied. "Do you know of the Kumo incident?"

"I have knowledge of the general affair, but not everything. Some pieces of information on the incident slipped through my fingers."

"Yet you know of how the Kumo ambassador attempted to kidnap a Main family Hyuuga?"

"I am aware," Naruto remarked. "Judging by your anger on the subject, I am correct in deducing that it was Hinata that was kidnapped?"

"Attempted to kidnap, but yes. She was the intended victim." Naomi paused in her speech to drink another saucer of sake. "The kidnapper was killed by my uncle the clan head, Hiashi Hyuuga. You know where it goes from there I believe."

"Mostly," Naruto replied with a shrug. "I am aware that Kumogakure demanded restitution for the death of their ambassador, citing that there was no proof beyond Hiashi's word, and thus they demanded his head. Despite that, I assume there must have been something else offered that Kumo desired, for Hiashi is still alive."

"Kumo was deceived into thinking they got what they wanted," Naomi growled.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, sipping his wine before setting the glass back down and looking at Naomi.

"Your father and Hiashi were identical twins weren't they?"

"Yes. My father was sacrificed in Hiashi's place to prevent Kumo from getting the Byakugan, forced to die simply because he was a member of the Branch family, and thus was expendable!" Naomi snarled, slamming her fist on the table.

Naruto deftly caught the wineglass and the half-full sake bottle, setting them back down once it was clear that Naomi wasn't going to strike it again.

"So your hatred of Hinata originates from this event?"

"Correct. She was their target, therefore she is responsible for my father's death, no matter how indirect!"

"For all you know, she may not have been the target," Naruto mused. "They could have tried grabbing any Main family Hyuuga, but they chose her because she was a child and thus weak. A sound strategy I'll admit, but flawed in the respect that she was the heiress at the time." Naruto looked back up at Naomi. "But I suspect this event isn't the entirety of why you hate her so."

"Those suspicions are sound," Neji replied. "It's not just the fact that she caused my father's death, but simply for what she is, how she acts, how she fights. It's frankly quite embarrassing."

"Embarrassing to the clan how weak she is?"

"Not just an embarrassment to the clan," Naomi sneered. "But to kunoichi."

"How so?" Naruto asked, amusement clear in his tone. "Despite her weakness, she is still reasonably better than the cannon fodder that dare to call themselves shinobi or kunoichi."

"Maybe so, but she is still giving us a bad name, almost as bad as those fangirls," Naomi retorted. "She believes she could become a shinobi to 'help people,' yet she lacks the desire to do whatever is necessary for that goal. Sure, it may be a noble goal, but if you refuse to take a life in order to save another, there is no point in trying."

"This is true," Naruto mused. "As the age-old adage goes, 'Might controls everything, and without strength you cannot protect anything, let alone yourself.'" Naruto sipped his wine and glanced back up at Naomi. "However, I've learned there should have been a second part added on to that adage, that 'might without a mind to control, nor the will to drive it, is useless.' By refusing to gain power to kill her enemies, she is setting herself up for failure from the start. And that is why she will always be below us in terms of skill."

"'Might makes right,' that's another interpretation, am I wrong?" Naomi replied.

"Point taken," Naruto said with a smile. "But regardless, so long as Hinata lacks the will to drive her might, what little strength she has will always fall short. That is why she fails at being a kunoichi."

"Exactly. She's a pathetic weakling who lacks the killer instinct necessary in order to survive in this kind of lifestyle, hell, even just surviving in the world itself. Not to mention her kindness will get her killed or worse one day should an enemy take advantage of it, thus possibly handing the Byakugan to an village not allied with our own."

"Indeed," Naruto mused. "There are those pigs who will happily use someone despite their weakness. Though, why do you see her kindness as a weakness? Some of the more 'noble' members of the Leaf would disagree and call it a strength."

Naomi idly raised her saucer to her lips, before stopping and setting it back down.

"Her so-called 'kindness' is in reality just a silly naive desire not to see anyone hurt."

"Go on," Naruto replied, resting his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers together in front of his face.

"She dislikes causing pain in others, especially members of the clan," Naomi remarked.

"That would explain the lack of killer instinct most shinobi have."

"Yes. She refuses to discipline members of the Branch house via Caged Bird Seal due to the pain it causes."

"And Hiashi never tried to condition this out of her?"

"No," Naomi replied. "Hiashi _-sama_ basically gave up on Hinata _-sama_ after she began consistently losing spars against her younger sister Hanabi."

"How old is she? Hanabi I mean."

"As of right now…" Naomi frowned and grit her teeth. "Nine years old."

Naruto, who had taken a sip of wine at that point, froze and coughed, sputtering for a moment and wiping his mouth with a napkin. Setting his glass down and coughing into his napkin for a moment, Naruto regained his composure and smoothed out his vest.

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you," he said. "I could have sworn you just said that Hinata is consistently beaten in spars by a nine-year old girl."

"I did."

Naruto stared at Naomi for a moment, before glancing down at his wineglass and casually sliding it aside.

"Well, to be honest, when I heard you say that I thought I had too much to drink. But you're being serious?"

Naomi nodded.

"Pardon my crudeness, but why the fuck is a sixteen-year old girl losing to a child in a sparring match!?" Sure. We can have them bring it up another time.

Naomi chuckled to herself at the sight of the usual composed demeanor of the village's resident Uzumaki cracking just slightly.

"Further proof of her weakness I suppose," Naomi replied, still chuckling softly.

"And I thought she was weak before, but this? How the hell did she even pass the Genin exam if she can't beat a nine-year old in a fight? It's so pathetic I can't even fathom it! Even Sakura Haruno has enough skill to not be beaten by a child, and she's the self-proclaimed chairman of the Sasuke Uchiha fan club!"

By this point, Naruto had an open sneer on his face, with one eye twitching madly while his fingernails left small scratches in the table where he was gripping it. Naomi lost all control of her expression and burst into laughter.

Naruto's outraged expression faded with Naomi's laughter as she wiped a tear from her eye. Naruto lifted his glass and stared at the half-full glass of wine before lifting it to his lips and draining the contents. Naomi poured one last saucer of sake, emptying the bottle, then drank it and set it aside.

"Naomi, I'm glad we were able to sit down and talk like this," Naruto said with a smile. "It has been quite the privilege."

A similar, if smaller smile formed on Naomi's face.

"Please, the privilege has been mine as well Naruto _-san_ ," Naomi replied. "Perhaps we could meet up like this again sometime, or perhaps we could spar in between training sessions and the tasks they call 'missions.'"

Naruto left a few ryo notes on the table and stood, Naomi repeating the action with her own money before standing. The two shinobi looked each other in the eye before reaching out and shaking hands. Naruto smiled and gave a small wave before leaving the stand and heading off down the road.

Naomi watched him leave before turning and walking in the opposite direction towards the Hyuuga clan compound.

* * *

Naruto was walking down the hallway of the building, extracting the keys to his apartment when he glanced up and saw that someone was waiting by his door. Naruto idly stowed his mail (mostly bills for utilities) in his vest and walked up to the person.

Based on the outfit she was wearing, she must be one of the maids of the Tsukiyama estate.

"I take it you have a message for me?" Naruto asked.

The maid nodded and handed Naruto a folded note. Naruto looked at her for a moment, then back at the note.

"Tsukiyama _-sama_ bid me to give that to you, as well as extend an invitation to join him for dinner this evening.

Naruto nodded and stowed the note away with his bills. Alright.

"Tell Tsukiyama _-san_ that I'll be there."

The maid gave a short bow before walking past Naruto and down the stairs to the exit. Naruto watched her leave before shaking his head and going to unlock his door.

Once inside, Naruto removed his boots and placed them by the door. Extracting the envelopes and note from his vest, Naruto laid them down on the table and continued to his closet. Unbuckling his sword from his belt, Naruto slid aside the hidden panel and placed the weapon in its proper place. He slid the panel back into place and removed the rest of his weaponry and set it down on the shelves before closing the closet doors.

He walked back over to the kitchen and sat down at the table, taking each envelope and opening them to examine their contents.

"Electricity bill, water bill, ventilation bill, reminder of rent being due," Naruto muttered under his breath as he filed through the envelopes.

Finally he came to the note Shuu had sent him. Taking it in hand, Naruto unfolded it to read its contents. Generally it seemed to say the same thing that the maid had told Naruto, with the exception of the fact that Shuu wanted him to come at 5:30. It was the words at the end of the note that had Naruto pausing for a moment, before allowing a gum-baring grin to form on his face.

 _If you could bring some meat along, it would be most appreciated, as unfortunately my meat locker is running quite low. And given your aptitude for acquiring quality goods, I believe I can leave this task to you._

Naruto chuckled to himself for a moment.

"It seems that we will be cooking tonight, eh Shuu?"

Naruto looked at the clock on the wall. 4:37. That left him about an hour to get to the Tsukiyama estate.

With that in mind, Naruto stood and walked over to his refrigerator and opened the meat drawer. He perused through the contents, looking over the recently refilled drawer with a calculating gaze. Carefully, Naruto moved aside the wrapped and sealed meat and organs until one piece caught his eye. He pulled the decent-sized piece of meat and held it in his hands.

"I suppose a fresh flank steak will serve our purposes well."

Naruto shut the fridge and set the wrapped piece of meat on the counter. Picking up a small cooler, Naruto filled it partially with ice packs and covered the meat with a towel before setting it down in the cooler. Placing the lid on it, Naruto walked back over to the closet and armed himself (going unarmed in a shinobi village, even your own, was the mark of an imbecile) with his gauntlet and his kunai pouches.

Once he had his boots back on, Naruto picked up the cooler and walked out the door, locking it as he went.

As he left the building, Naruto became aware of the faint tone ringing around him. He slowed his pace slightly and adjusted the cooler in his grip for a moment before reaching into his pocket to extract the ringing phone. With a flick of his wrist Naruto flipped open the phone and held it to his ear.

"Uzumaki speaking."

 _-Indeed it is, isn't it Uzumaki?-_

"Yes," Naruto replied. "You have something to discuss?"

 _-Correct. I simply wanted to inform you that I received your message from your spirit friend.-_

"I see. And your response?"

 _-I can see why you would wish to know who might hold the other half of the Kitsune. And yes, I may have someone who can find this information. The question is, what will you be offering in return?-_

"Have no fear Brother," Naruto remarked, a small smile on his face. "I will see to it that you and your organization will be properly compensated for this endeavor."

 _-Very well Uzumaki. I will have my man look into this. When he learns anything, I will inform you of any developments, and then we can discuss compensation.-_

"Provided he discovers the identity of the other host."

 _-Yes, once he discovers the identity of the host.-_

"Splendid. I hope you have a pleasant evening Brother," Naruto said. "And it was a pleasure doing business with you."

 _-Of course. Mine as well. You have a good evening yourself Uzumaki.-_

Naruto flipped the phone shut and slipped it into his pocket, and continued on his way to the Tsukiyama estate with a bit of a spring in his step.

* * *

Shuu Tsukiyama was idly sipping a glass of wine when Naruto arrived, escorted into his presence by one of his maids.

" _Bonsoir_ Naruto," he called out.

Taking note of Shuu's location, Naruto strode over towards him with cooler still in hand. He greeted Shuu with a handshake and set the cooler down on the table. Shuu smiled and nodded at Naruto before signaling a maid over.

"Take this to the kitchens, you know which one."

The maid bowed and took the cooler in hand and walked off. Shuu gestured to the chair beside his own, sitting down as he did. Naruto smiled and sat down.

"Can I interest you in a glass of wine?"

"Perhaps at dinner, as I had a glass earlier with an acquaintance of mine. My thanks for the offer though."

Shuu smiled and slid the bottle aside. "Very well then."

Naruto watched as Shuu drained the last of the wine in his glass before speaking once more.

"Why exactly did your request that I come at this time instead of later?" he asked. "I can only assume you wish to speak with me while the meal is being prepared."

"In a way, yes," Shuu replied. "Though it will be a bit different than how you expect it to be."

"Oh?"

"We will be conversing while the meal is prepared, but I was hoping that we would be the ones to prepare the meal, together. I've been meaning to try an example of your cooking Naruto, and this would be a perfect opportunity, _non_?"

"I suppose so," Naruto mused. "It will indeed be a new experience, cooking for someone else, and with a second person working with me in the kitchen."

"Then why waste time then? I can only assume you have something in mind that would work beautifully with the meat you brought in order to make something truly _magnifique_ for us to dine on tonight?"

Naruto paused for a moment, thinking carefully before baring his gums in his signature grin.

"Yes, I have something in mind."

" _Merveilleux_ ," Shuu replied with a grin of his own. "Come with me to the kitchen then."

The pair stood and began crossing the grounds, walking in the direction of the manor. Once inside, Shuu led Naruto down the hallways on the first floor until they came to the kitchen that he was referring to earlier, Naruto's cooler sitting on one of the counters beside the oven. Shuu walked into the room and spread his hands out to the side, spinning in a circle as he turned to face Naruto.

"My humble kitchen," he said with a smile. "So, what shall we be cooking tonight?"

"Something relatively simple, but satisfying nonetheless."

"I see. What do we need then?" Shuu asked, adjusting the apron he had just put on.

"I'll look through the spice rack for what we need there. Wherever you keep vegetables, find chives, garlic, carrots, asparagus, and potatoes. Locate the olive oil and parsley if they are in the same area," Naruto replied as he tied an apron around his waist.

Shuu nodded and walked over to the pantry to locate the requested ingredients while Naruto moved to the spice rack and moved aside various containers and shakers to find what he sought.

"Black pepper, salt, cayenne, onion, garlic," Naruto listed off as he took the named items off the rack.

Having found what he sought, Naruto set them on the counter and moved to the fridge while Shuu placed the carrots, garlic, and asparagus beside the spices.

"Which kind of potatoes?" Shuu called out.

"Small red potatoes if possible," Naruto replied, closing the fridge with butter and blue cheese in hand.

Shuu nodded and removed a sack of the specified potatoes, setting them on the counter. He then located the chives and parsley and placed them with the rest of the ingredients.

"Olive oil is in the cabinet to your left," he remarked to Naruto, pointing in the general direction of the specified cabinet.

Naruto found the olive oil and set it aside with the rest of the ingredients before opening the cooler and taking out the meat within. Shuu gazed at the meat hungrily, licking his lips slightly.

"Flank?"

"Yes."

"What kind?"

"Beef," Naruto replied with a small smirk.

Shuu chuckled in response. "So, now what do you want me to do? I am but your humble sous chef my friend," Shuu said with a short bow.

"Start by cutting those potatoes in half. We'll need about a pounds worth."

Shuu nodded and walked to the knife rack and pulled out the appropriate blade. Naruto handed him a cutting board, and the blue-haired noble got to work slicing potatoes.

Naruto meanwhile took a small bowl and began mixing together even portions of the pepper, garlic, and onion, before mixing in a portion a fourth of the size of the previous ones of cayenne. Once the spices were thoroughly mixed together, he set the bowl aside and took out another bowl. In the second bowl, he began mixing together butter and blue cheese with a spoon.

"So, how are you getting along with your team Naruto?" Shuu asked, still quickly but carefully bisecting potatoes.

"You could say that," Naruto replied, pausing briefly to taste the mixture he was working on before continuing stirring, dissatisfied with the consistency. "Sen and I get along well, and I am at least on neutral terms with Rize and Ayato."

"Well, considering you have been, dare I say it, friends with Sen for a while now, it only makes sense that you get along well with her," Shuu remarked, cutting the last potato in half and sliding them to the other side of the board with the others. "What's next?"

"Mix together olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic in a bowl and toss the potatoes in them."

Shuu nodded and glanced at the potatoes before pulling three cloves from the cluster and setting them on the board. He removed a rather large bowl from the cabinet below him and began mixing the ingredients Naruto mentioned.

"And how has the training been so far? Have you learned anything new to advance your skills?"

Naruto glanced up from his current task of unwrapping the meat and setting it on the counter.

"Based on Rize's belief that we should all have some form of common skill, she has been 'catching me up' with Ayato and Sen by giving me pointers in Kenjutsu and elemental channeling," Naruto replied, now having pulled on rubber gloves and was rubbing the flank down with olive oil.

"Kenjutsu? Never figured you for the type Naruto," Shuu remarked with a smirk as he finished mixing the spices and olive oil, and was currently tossing the potatoes in the mixture. "I always thought of you as a more of a stealthy type."

"I guess I could be considered that, but Kenjutsu helps for a backup skill in the event that I am unable to attack in my usual ways."

Shuu shrugged in response as he kept tossing the potatoes. Naruto was now coating both sides of the flank with the spice mixture he had created earlier. As he continued coating the meat, Shuu transferred the potatoes to a sheet pan and placed them in the oven while setting a timer. Once he was done with that, Shuu went back to the cutting board and mixed together some more garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a hint of a grated white cheese before placing the asparagus in the bowl and tossing it together like the potatoes.

After completing this, Shuu placed them on a tray and set them in the oven above the roasting potatoes. Turning back to the cutting board, Shuu began cutting the carrots as Naruto finished rubbing down the meat.

Once Naruto was finished with the meat, he carefully lubricated the stovetop grill with olive oil and turned the burners on. Gripping the meat with a pair of tongs, he laid it down on the grill and let it sit as the meat seared and sizzled. While he cooked his meat, Shuu began boiling the sliced carrots, occasionally removing one to carefully poke with a fork. Once the carrots were tender enough, Shuu removed the pot from the burner and drained the water from it.

Placing the pot of carrots back on the now unlit burner, Shuu walked over to the pantry and came back with brown sugar and an orange. Quickly slicing the orange in half, Shuu held the halves of the fruit over the pot and squeezed the juice onto the carrots. After finishing with the oranges, Shuu scooped some brown sugar into the pot, followed by some butter and a pinch of salt, and mixed them slowly over a medium heat.

Naruto meanwhile had flipped the flank and let it sear on the other side of the meat. Once the meat was cooked to medium rare, Naruto removed it from the grill and set it on the cutting board. Reading a carving knife, Naruto carefully sliced the flank lengthwise into reasonably thin strips.

Seeing Shuu removing the cooking sheets from the oven and sprinkling parsley over the potatoes, Naruto looked around the kitchen for a moment.

"It's embarrassing to ask this, but where are your plates?"

"The cabinet to your right."

Finding the correct cabinet, Naruto removed a pair of plates and set them on the counter beside each other. Taking the tongs in hand, Naruto measured out an even portion of the sliced meat onto each plate. He then took a small spoon and topped it off with a dollop of the blue cheese butter. Shuu took a spatula and dished out portions of asparagus and roasted potatoes before taking a serving spoon and placing the carrots on the plate.

Observing their work, Naruto looked up at Shuu and smiled.

"Broil topped with bleu cheese butter, served with asparagus, garlic roasted potatoes, and orange-glazed carrots."

"It looks very appetizing, and the smell is positively _enivrant_ ," Shuu replied.

Naruto nodded and handed one of the plates to Shuu. Shuu deftly took it in his hands and headed for the door with Naruto behind him with the other plate.

"Would you prefer to eat indoors or outdoors?"

"Indoors if you don't mind."

Shuu smiled in response and lead Naruto to the dining room. After setting his plate down, he clicked his fingers.

"Yes Tsukiyama _-sama_?" the maid asked as she appeared.

"Bring us a bottle of wine if you would. You know where to look."

The maid nodded and walked off as Naruto and Shuu sat down and unfolded their napkins. After placing his silverware at the sides of his plate, Shuu clasped his hands together and murmured a soft prayer. Finishing up his prayer, he took his knife and fork in hand and speared one of the potatoes. Placing it in his mouth and chewing, Shuu swallowed and smiled widely.

"I am not sure if this is just me or not, but this seems to taste better somehow," Shuu mused. "Perhaps this is due to the fact that we prepared this meal ourselves?"

"Indeed,' Naruto replied, cutting a piece off a strip of meat and chewing thoughtfully before swallowing. "I find that preparing a dish yourself makes it seem all the more satisfying knowing that it came from your own hands."

"I believe you may be right Naruto," Shuu remarked with a smile.

The two continued dining as the maid returned with a bottle of wine. Smiling gratefully, Shuu took the bottle in hand and popped the cork as the maid placed two wine glasses on the table. Tilting the bottle, Shuu began filling the glasses with a deep red wine.

"A fine Syrah is the right companion for an exquisite cut of beef, _non_?"

Naruto nodded in agreement and took the glass in hand and took a sip of the wine within. Setting the glass down, he cut another piece of meat and began chewing.

"It accompanies the meal quite well," Naruto remarked. "Your tastes in wine are as astute as ever my friend."

" _J'essaie_ ," Shuu replied with a smile and a small shrug. "That is all I can do."

Just as he finished speaking, a maid walked into the room and bowed. Shuu glanced over at her, quirking an eyebrow.

"Forgive my intrusion Tsukiyama _-sama_ , but the entertainment you hired has arrived."

"Send them in then," Shuu said with a smile.

The maid bowed and left the room while Naruto looked up at Shuu and raised an eyebrow while swallowing the potato in his mouth.

"Entertainment? You did not have to hire entertainers on my behalf," he remarked.

" _Non_ Naruto," Shuu replied. "It is traditional to have entertainment alongside excellent food, is it not?"

"I suppose so," Naruto mused.

At that moment, three women clothed in white robes were escorted in by the maid. Two of the three were carrying a large golden harp, which they set down on the side of the table opposite Naruto. The trio turned and bowed to Naruto and Shuu, Shuu raising his glass of wine and smiling in response while Naruto gave a small nod of the head. As the two women standing beside the harp began tuning it, the maid walked up to Shuu and knelt down to whisper in his ear.

"She's here?" Shuu asked.

"Yes. She wishes to speak to both you and Naruto."

"Huh. Well, see her in."

The maid bowed and left the room, returning moments later with a familiar purple-haired woman.

"Rize, it's been a while," Shuu said with a smile that didn't quite extend as far as it did before.

Naruto looked at his sensei and raised an eyebrow while taking a sip of his wine. Rize shook hands with Shuu, who proceeded to offer her a seat.

"If I had known you were coming, Naruto and I would have prepared a third plate."

"It's fine," Rize replied. "I already ate before coming here."

"Yes, why are you here Rize?" Shuu asked. "Is it here to catch up with an old friend, or are you here for Naruto?"

"I guess you could say I was looking for Naruto," Rize said. "Given how he's the newest member of squad 13, I believed it to be best to get to know him a little better so we can work together easier."

"Sound logic I suppose," Naruto replied, cutting a strip of meat and chewing thoughtfully.

Rize paused a moment to take a seat and glance over Naruto and Shuu's plates.

"The two of you prepared this?"

"Indeed," Shuu replied. "Naruto has quite the talent in the kitchen, so I figured the best way to have dinner together was if we prepared it together. All in all, it tastes quite satisfying knowing that your own hands were the ones to prepare it."

"I imagine so," Rize remarked.

She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the food on the plates. It was positively intoxicating, with a somehow familiar scent permeating her senses.

"Tsukiyama _-sama_ ," one of the musicians asked tentatively.

"Hmm? Oh, you may begin when you are ready," Shuu said as he glanced over at the trio.

The robed woman nodded and motioned to her companions. The two other women knelt on either side of the harp and lifted their hands, fingers ready at the strings of the instrument. The first woman cleared her throat and breathed in deeply, and then she began to sing.

There were no words sung by her, just subtle inflections of the tone of her voice to achieve a pitch that was both beautiful and haunting at the same time. Mixed in with the plucking and strumming of the harp and the other two women singing softly at different pitches in the background, together they formed a unique sound that caused Naruto to close his eyes and take it all in, his head swaying slowly in tune with music. (1)

"My my," Shuu said as they sang. "No matter how many times I hear that tune, I will never tire of it."

"Indeed, in this we can agree," Rize replied.

Naruto said nothing, having set his silverware down on the table, foregoing the completion of his meal in favor of just listening to the haunting melody. As he continued to take in the sounds reverberating through the dining room, he turned to Shuu.

"Is there any chance I could get a recorded copy of this? Something like this could be very relaxing when I'm cooking at home."

"Yes, they are quite talented aren't they?" Shuu replied. "Feel free to ask them yourself, and if all else fails I can make a copy of one of mine to give you."

"My thanks," Naruto said, nodding his head in Shuu's direction.

As the music continued to echo around them, Naruto and Shuu went back to their meal and calmly continued eating. Rize sat there and listened, closing her eyes and taking in the sounds.

These sounds brought back memories she had almost thought she had long forgotten, as well as memories of recent times. Several images flashed through her mind as she listened: a woman with long, vibrant red hair looking at her with a soft smile and a mischievous gleam in her eye, a massive orange fox with nine flowing tails roaring as it charged a sphere of chakra to fire at the Hokage monument, a blue haired man in a suit standing before the memorial stone with a single tear leaking from a red and black eye, sparring and battling with two masked companions from ANBU.

Flashes of vibrant red as her foes were torn apart, blood spilling across the ground and walls while soft chuckling laughter echoed around her.

"Rize?"

Rize's eyes snapped open to see Shuu looking at her with a raised eyebrow, his plate now empty alongside Naruto's.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "Just… caught up in memories."

"Yes, that melody does bring back that which we have forgotten, _non_?"

Naruto said nothing, but as Rize glanced at him she thought she could see that gleam in his eyes, the same gleam she had just witnessed in her memories.

The robed women trailed off into silence as her companions plucked at the strings of the harp one last time before allowing their fingers to fall still. They all stood and bowed as Naruto and Shuu began clapping politely, Rize following suit seconds later. As Naruto walked over to the lead singer and began conversing with her, Shuu turned to Rize.

"It's moments like this when he definitely reminds me of her, am I wrong?"

"Yes," Rize replied solemnly. "He has her temper, though perhaps more volatile. I'm pleased to see that he at least has none of his father in him."

"I agree," Shuu remarked. "Naruto is all the better without the mindset of that naive _imbécile_ tainting his actions and motives." He glanced back at Naruto, who was currently smiling while apparently asking something of the singer. "Minato Namikaze has no place in the young man we have here today.

"Regardless of what we think of his personality, you cannot deny that Minato was skilled as a shinobi," Rize said as she looked at Shuu.

"Please. He relied far too heavily on that seal tied to his kunai in his fighting style. Take away that seal and all he really had was a sphere of chakra and a contract for giant amphibians with equally large weapons," Shuu scoffed. "That seal wasn't even his own work to begin with. It was created by the Nidaime, and seemingly 'perfected' by Minato. He also received the contract from that perverted fool of a Sannin, with his only original technique being the Rasengan. And even then he got the idea from seeing the signature attack of the Bijuu."

"I see your point, but no one else in our forces disabled an entire army of enemy shinobi with just a few kunai and a seal."

"You've never seen Kushina going all out then," Shuu countered. "Not to mention that several shinobi in the village's past have been far stronger. I'd like to see Minato Namikaze battle Madoka Uchiha in her prime and survive, let alone win."

"To be fair, no shinobi with the exception of the Shodaime could stand against Madoka Uchiha in her prime and win. She was the strongest kunoichi to exist for a reason."

As the pair continued talking, Naruto was finishing up his conversation with the singer and her group. Thanking her for her time, he turned and walked towards Rize and Shuu.

"What are the two of you debating about? I'm curious if my opinion might differ."

"Not really a debate to be honest," Rize muttered.

"More of a discussion of the inadequacies of Minato Namikaze," Shuu replied. "Of which there are numerous."

"Ah," Naruto said. "With that in mind, we are all in agreement then."

"Glad to see we are all on the same page," Shuu said with an amused smirk. "If you don't mind walking with me Naruto?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed, but he followed Shuu nonetheless. Rize, being somewhat wary at this point, followed behind them a short distance away. Once it became clear that Shuu didn't have anything malicious planned (though it was hard to tell with him at times) Rize quickened her pace and walked beside Naruto.

"Sometime you are going to have to cook something like that again so I can get a chance to taste it," she remarked.

"You would appreciate that wouldn't you sensei?" Naruto said with a smirk. "Though what about your student's humble meal could have possibly garnered your curiosity?"

"Specifically?" Rize replied.

"Of course."

"The smell of the meat."

Naruto almost broke his stride, but hid his surprise well. He glanced at his sensei, his thoughts racing in response to her words.

 _"Does she suspect where the meat came from? Impossible, there's no way she'd be able to discern that. Even Hatake with his senses has yet to pick it up!"_

"What about the smell that caught your attention?"

"It smells so familiar, so succulent, yet I'm afraid I'm drawing a blank here. I know I should recognize the meat, but it's slipped my mind," Rize replied with a hand on her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Any chance you could tell me what kind of meat it was?"

"If your senses are so refined, then why don't you guess what it is?" Naruto said with a smile, inwardly keeping a close eye on her response.

"I already told you, I'm drawing a blank. Can't you spare your poor exhausted sensei the trouble and tell me?" Rize said with a smile that would have sent most men looking the opposite direction with fiercely glowing cheeks.

Naruto was not most men, though he would firmly deny that a faint dusting of pink appeared on his face when anyone asked about the event. Just as he was about to answer, he was beaten to it.

"What Naruto cooked for us was a most exquisite cut of beef flank, braised and seared with a healthy coating of spices," Shuu replied with a smile, a single eyebrow raising.

"Noooo," Rize drawled. "I'm certain it smelled like something else…"

Naruto idly hid his hand at the side of his waist where Rize could not see it, slowly flexing his wrist to unsheath the blade in his gauntlet.

"No, I recognize it now," Rize remarked as she tilted her head to smirk at Naruto. "That was human flesh wasn't it?"

As he raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened, panic and paranoia coursed through his body. Naruto then abandoned all form of subtlety and fully unsheathed his wrist blade and lunged at the purple haired woman. After all, she was lacking her katana, and she didn't appear to be fighting back in the slightest, preferring to stand there with a knowing smirk on her face. Naruto's blade sang as it speared through the air, aimed directly at Rize's neck.

The blade froze inches from Rize's neck, held tightly between the index and middle fingers of Shuu Tsukiyama.

"Dear me, that was a little rude now wasn't it Naruto?" Shuu said reprimandingly.

"W-what?" Naruto sputtered in shock.

"You can calm down Naruto. Just as your choice of diet doesn't affect me for obvious reasons, those reasons apply to Rize as well. Your secret is safe with us."

"Wait, she knows?!"

"Not only that, but you could say she shares our unique tastes."

Naruto froze, thinking about this as he relaxed his wrist and allowed the blade to slide back into the gauntlet. Shuu idly dusted off his sleeve and turned back down the hallway.

"Now then, shall we continue? I'm sure you might enjoy this Naruto."

The pair continued after the blue-haired man, silently walking as Naruto continued to comprehend this. Finally he turned to Rize.

"So, you too eat the flesh of men?"

"And women," Rize remarked nonchalantly. "I'm not too picky, so long as they're not pure fat." She paused in her speech for a moment to think before turning back to Naruto. "Although, I must ask, why?" Rize inquired.

"Hm?" Naruto hummed in question.

"Why do you eat humans?"

"Me?" Naruto replied, stunned for a moment before continuing. "These so-called 'humans' are little more than cattle, beasts fit only for food, and even then that's a compliment. Therefore, I treat them as such." He turned to glance at his sensei. "What about you? Why do you eat the flesh of man?"

Rize shrugged. "It is how the Saint created me, and so I do what I am created for."

Naruto's eyebrow quirked. "The Saint?"

"A sort of… well I guess you wouldn't say 'heroic' in terms of so-called 'normal' people… she was considered a hero, and legends say that she devoured the flesh of humanity to gain great power. Once she had this power, it is believed that she wished to share the joys of this power with someone, so she created us in her image. A creation that looks human, but constantly desires to consume their flesh for power and with the hopes of becoming like her."

"So, this 'Saint' is your religious figure of sorts?"

"Yes. You could say she is our goddess, constantly watching over our exploits and hunts of humanity with a proud smile on her face."

"Interesting," Naruto mused before turning to Shuu. "Are you one of them?"

"I am," Shuu admitted. "Though while some of our kind prefer to simply eat humans constantly like rabid animals, some like Rize and myself prefer to be more civilized."

"Sensei mentioned a legend," Naruto said. "What is the legend of the Saint?"

Shuu chuckled. "Another time Naruto. For now, we have something more important to take care of."

The trio continued walking down the hallway, with Shuu slowly looking from door to door as his calm expression began to fade somewhat.

"Dammit, where was that room again?" he murmured.

"Don't tell me you've gotten lost in your own house," Naruto deadpanned.

"I'm not lost!" Shuu protested. "I'm just… forgetful occasionally."

"Right…" Rize remarked, her own expression mirroring her student's.

Throwing his hands up and muttering irritably in that strange language he was always speaking in from time to time, Shuu eventually figured out which way they were supposed to be going, turning down a hallway to the left and continuing onward with Naruto and Rize following warily.

As they walked, Naruto paused for a moment and thought carefully as he walked. Glancing at Rize, he made his thoughts known.

"Did my mother know what you practiced?"

Rize's step faltered for a moment before she regained her stride.

"No, as far as I am aware she didn't know of what I did," she admitted. "We are taught from birth never to reveal our beliefs to anyone without proper reasoning to do so. I was going to tell Kushina at some point, but she began dating Minato and I couldn't."

"Because she might have told him?"

"Probably. And with him being considered as a possible Hokage candidate even then, it would have lead to the destruction of the Saint's followers for obvious reasons."

"Humans will inevitably fear what they cannot understand," Shuu remarked. "They would have not only looked upon us as monsters for being so-called 'cannibals' but would have also condemned us as 'demon-worshippers' for revering a figure that could easily be considered evil to others. And given that cannibalism is considered a crime against humanity, we would have been locked up and executed for that very reason. All because of fear."

"That same fear which lead to myself becoming who I am today," Naruto mused.

"Indeed," Rize replied. "And while I was very close to Kushina, I wasn't going to risk the destruction of our religion simply because I was once in a relationship with her."

"How far did that relationship go anyways?" Naruto wondered aloud. "Was it purely for sex or was there something more to it?"

Rize shrugged. "It was whatever we needed it to be at the time. If one of us needed to scratch an itch, then the other would help scratch it. If one of us needed emotional support for a failed mission or a fallen comrade, then we would comfort the other. Most of the time we were just ordinary friends, just friends who happened to sleep with one another from time to time." Rize paused for a moment and smirked evilly. "Would you like to know who was on top more often?"

Unnoticed by the two of them, Shuu's small smile started to look a little bit more forced than before. Naruto's eyes widened when he comprehended what she said.

"I really don't want to hear about your sexual exploits with my mother sensei," Naruto ground out.

"You sure? I can tell you, she used to do this thing with those chains of hers-"

Naruto froze and immediately shut out the world as a single spoken taunt from the Kyuubi echoed in his mind.

 _ **"Well, it seems that someone takes after mommy in terms of the S &M fetish."**_

 _"By the gods, the Fox was telling the truth!?"_

Despite himself, Naruto couldn't hold back the blush that arose at the thought. Rize noticed this and chuckled merrily at the sight.

"You sure you don't want to hear more?" Rize asked teasingly. "I'm sure I could rack my brains for some of the times Kushina and I brought out some of our favorite toys to play with. Would you like to know which one was my favorite?"

Inwardly cursing himself for accidentally surrounding himself with perverts, Naruto, his face a deep scarlet red, quickly shut his eyes and rapidly shook his head from side to side, trying his best to ignore the images that rose unbidden in his mind. At that point, he began planning various ways to end the life of a dirty old man who "accidentally" left out a familiar orange book for Naruto to read.

 _(In the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly got the feeling that someone was plotting his death, only to turn and notice Iruka walking into the room with another stack of paperwork for him to fill out, much to the Hokage's despair)_

Naruto groaned and continued shaking his head. And based on the fact that the Walrider had lost its demented composure and a strange warbling sound had started reverberating through his head, Naruto could only assume this meant the spirit was laughing at his predicament.

"Rize, please don't break Naruto's mind with retellings of you and Kushina's S&M experimentation," Shuu called back, a faint hint of irritation present in his tone. "I don't want to have to explain the situation to the Yamanaka who would have to glue his brain back together afterwards, especially if they might happen to see certain activities of his that would be better left unsaid to the authorities searching for the 'Voracious' right now."

The purple-haired woman laughed and shook her head. Shuu rolled his eyes in response and stopped before an ornate door.

"We're here."

Extracting a key from his pockets, Shuu unlocked the door and pushed it open. Stepping inside, Naruto and Rize followed him into the room.

Lining the room was an extensive collection of weapon racks and stands, featuring all sorts of weapons. From Katanas to tantos, broadswords to maces, halberds to polearms, the amount of instruments useful in the art of killing was extensive. The room was divided into sections, with different sections for a specific type of weapon, such as swords in one section and halberds in another. Sitting on the far wall on an intricately designed stand was a relatively large scroll, smaller than the Sacred Scroll, but larger than a regular sealing or messenger scroll.

Naruto glanced around the room, taking in the sight of it before walking over to a weapon rack and carefully inspecting a silver polearm with twin ornate blades. As he ran a finger over the blades, Rize walked over to Shuu and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Why Shuu, you've been holding out on me," she remarked playfully. "Look at all these shiny new toys."

"They are not toys for you to mess around with when you get bored Rize," Shuu replied irritably.

Naruto finished inspecting the bident and returned to stand beside Rize and Shuu.

"I assume you didn't just bring me here to show off your collection of weaponry?" Naruto asked.

"Non," Shuu replied. "This is something different Naruto. It's more like, I have a gift for you."

Naruto raised his eyebrow as Shuu walked over to one of the weapon racks in the section apparently designed for swords. He glanced around the area, carefully inspecting the various swords before finding the one he was looking for and looking over it thoughtfully.

"Rize told me of your exploits earlier today in the field of Kenjutsu," Shuu remarked as he ran a hand over the scabbard of the blade. "I'm am pleased that you managed to teach yourself the skills necessary to succeed in this exercise. However, while you are skilled at using that blade of yours, I believe that that this blade may prove to be better suited for someone of your particular style Naruto."

With those words, Shuu strode over to Naruto and held out the sheathed sword to him, the hilt facing towards the blonde. Naruto eyed the weapon before grasping it by the hilt and unsheathing it with a swift motion.

Clutched in Naruto's hand was a silver sword with a straight blade that was both long in length and thin in width of the blade, and a wide cross-guard with each side possessing a small curl in the metal, each bending the opposite way as the other. Naruto looked over the weapon with an appraising eye, smiling widely at the sight. He spun the blade with a quick flourish and settled into his Kenjutsu stance. Rearing his arm back, Naruto lunged forward, stabbing the air and unleashing a swift barrage of slashes before flicking the sword to the side.

"A well-balanced weapon, designed for precision and speed is it not?" Naruto said as he looked over the blade. "A very fine blade."

Shuu chuckled and handed Naruto the sheath. "It is called the Estoc. I believe this weapon will work brilliantly for you Naruto."

Naruto took the sheath in hand and sheathed the Estoc before sealing it away in a seal somewhere on his person. Shuu clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder and smiled.

"Now you have no excuse when you want to decline a fencing match with me due to not having the proper kind of blade," Shuu whispered with a smirk.

Naruto froze and pondered whether the cons of accepting the Estoc outweighed the pros.

"Now that we have that out of the way," Shuu said with a smile. "I have another gift I'd like to give you Naruto."

The blonde's eyebrow raised as Shuu walked over to the scroll on the pedestal and took it in his arms. He walked over to Naruto and carefully set the scroll on the ground.

"Shuu, you're actually going to do this?" Rize asked, slightly alarmed.

"I am. Naruto is a full-fledged shinobi of the Leaf now," Shuu replied, an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. "Every shinobi needs an ace in the hole, and what better ace in the hole than something like this?"

"Pardon my confusion, but what exactly is this 'something' you are referring to?" Naruto asked.

Shuu turned back to Naruto and carefully unrolled the scroll.

"This 'something' Naruto, is a Summoning Contract."

Naruto's eyes widened. He never knew Shuu had a Summoning Contract (none of the Tsukiyama family had been shinobi as far as he was aware) and Naruto was very aware how rare such contracts were. The question was, which one was it?

"What is that the contract for?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you'll just have to sign it and find out, now won't you?" Shuu replied with a sickly grin.

Naruto looked down at the proffered blank space for his signature and handprint, and made up his mind. He raised a hand to his mouth and prepared to bite down on his thumb.

"A word of caution Naruto," Shuu warned. "If you sign that contract, be prepared to fight whatever you summon the first time. I can say this, it will not be an easy fight for you."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, a faint hint of maroon flashing in his blue irises before vanishing as quickly as it appeared. He bit down on his thumb, drawing blood that he proceeded to use to sign his name and make a print of each finger. Shuu watched him sign impassively before glancing at Rize.

"Go ahead and teach him the seals Rize."

Rize nodded nervously and quickly ran through the handseals with Naruto for a moment until he had them down well enough for usage. Naruto quickly flipped through the handseals, drawing on a faint amount of the Fox's chakra for a small boost to complete the jutsu. Once his seals were complete, Naruto bit his thumb again and slammed his hand on the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)"

A ring of black seals lanced out from where Naruto's hand met the floor, forming a circular array before exploding in a massive cloud of smoke.

Rize and Shuu backed up quickly when they saw the massive form behind the smoke screen, not wanting to get in the way that much. Naruto stared at the immense being as the smoke cleared. As he gazed upon what he summoned, Naruto bared his gums in a menacing grin as he unsealed the Estoc and unleashed the wrist blade on his free hand.

"Very interesting," he mused as he prepared for battle.

The smoke cleared to reveal a massive armored figure, several times taller than Naruto's own height, wielding a massive halberd. The giant glanced around before looking downward and staring at the shinobi standing battle-ready before him.

"So, here standeth before me the first to sign our glorious contract." The giant spoke in deep voice, sounding as if it were clouded by vast amounts of metal, possessing a sort of echo to it.

"I am indeed," Naruto replied, adjusting his grip on the Estoc slightly. "I trust that I will not come to regret this decision."

The knight shifted slightly, lifting his halberd high in the air and bringing it down with a mighty crash, embedding the blade a couple feet into the floor (Much to Shuu's unsurprising outrage)

"Thy will may be strong mortal," the knight echoed. "But before our aid may be called upon by thee, I must test thy mettle against me, and face my judgement so that thy contract can be completed, and to see if thou art worthy to battle alongside us."

"Fair enough," Naruto mused. "Nothing comes without price."

"Thou art correct mortal."

With a practiced motion, the knight ripped his halberd free of the floor, breaking off a few more tiles of the floor in the process (ignoring Shuu's further cries of outrage) before readying himself. Naruto tilted his head and flexed his neck until a faint crack was heard. He returned to his former position and bowed to the knight.

"Let us begin then," Naruto said with a gum-baring smile, his blue eyes bleeding into maroon.

"Yes. Come to face thy judgement mortal," the knight rumbled in response.

Lunging forward with surprisingly swift speed for one so large, the knight leapt forward and slammed the halberd where Naruto was standing seconds earlier. Naruto eyed the new crater carved in the floor with an amused eye. Freezing still for a brief moment, Naruto rolled out of the way just as the Walrider removed itself from his body to avoid a lunging stab from the halberd. Eyeing the weapon, Naruto's smile faltered.

"This may be more difficult than I had anticipated."

* * *

"Do you understand your assignment?" Hiruzen asked from his desk.

"We understand sir," Rize replied. "Though I fail to see why we should be the ones handling this."

"I agree with Rize," Might Guy remarked in response, uncharacteristically serious compared to his usual exuberant personality. "The targets are Nukenin from Iwagakure, so shouldn't their hunter-nin be the ones to eliminate them?"

"That would normally be the case," Hiruzen replied. "However the two Nukenin in question have 'taken up shop' if you will in Hi no Kuni, and have amassed quite a large following from various bandits, thieves, and cutthroats. If left unchecked, they could become a serious problem to our citizens."

Standing behind the two Jonin were their respective teams, waiting silently for orders, though there was some obvious tension in the members of the teams.

While Ayato and Sen were standing respectfully and at attention, Lee was obviously fighting the urge to shout happily, but was doing his best upon seeing how calm Guy-sensei was being at the moment. Naruto and Naomi were clearly more at ease with each other than Naomi's female teammate. Tenten was forgoing all pretense of professionalism by openly glaring at Naruto, one hand inching towards one of her multiple kunai pouches. It also was clearly irritating her that Naomi was being friendly with the bastard after he humiliated her in such a way in front of academy students.

It didn't help that Naomi, being one of the examples of what a strong kunoichi should aspire to be, was someone that Tenten looked up to. For her to be acquainted with a chauvinistic bastard like Naruto both enraged and baffled her.

Naruto seemed to sense the bun-haired girl's anger and fought the urge to smirk in her direction, opting to keep a professional air about him. Naomi simply stayed impassive where she stood, understanding Tenten's anger yet refusing to get in between the two due to one being a newfound kindred spirit of sorts and the other being a teammate that she could relate to (who actually was serious about being a kunoichi unlike some of the other genin)

At that moment, Guy and Rize nodded and stepped aside and motioned to their students. They all glanced at one another and took a step forward to stand in front of their Hokage.

"Team Guy and Team 13," Hiruzen said, looking over all six of the Genin before him. "I have chosen your teams because of the agreement that you are some of the best Genin of your generation. Your skills should be more than enough to complete this mission.

Hiruzen sat up a bit straighter and gestured with his hand to Team Guy.

"Team Guy, you have more experience than your fellow team, however given that your team is primarily a frontal assault team we cannot allow you to take this mission alone. This is where Team 13 comes in."

As he spoke, he then gestured to Team 13.

"Team 13, being specialized in stealth and assassination, is perfect for this mission to sneak into the camp and rescue any possible hostages before launching an assault to wipe them out. If possible, they might be able to even take out the ringleaders before taking down the rest of the followers. However, they are still a relatively new team, and have yet to take a C-Rank mission on their own since Naruto joined them. This will be their trial run of sorts, with Team Guy serving as backup."

Hiruzen reached down into one of the drawers of his desk and removed a pair of file folders. Motioning to Rize and Guy, Hiruzen handed them the folders.

"Your mission is classified as Search-and-Destroy. In those files are the information we have on the Nukenin from Iwa who have started up the group. You are to locate the camp, believed to be in this general area," Hiruzen said as he gestured to a small map unfolded on the top of the desk. "Liberate any hostages that may be in the camp, then use whatever means necessary to eliminate those following the Nukenin. The Nukenin are to be either captured alive, or disposed of if live capture is not possible. Are your orders clear?"

"Sir yes sir!" the six Genin and two Jonin intoned at the same time.

"Very good," the Sandaime Hokage replied with a small smile. "You all will have two hours before you leave to prepare yourself for the mission, be it weapons or other items you will need for this assignment. This concludes your briefing."

The Hokage stood and looked over the group of shinobi before him.

"Dismissed."

The two teams gave short, curt bows, and turned towards the door right as they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the room. The door opened, and in walked Team 7.

Sasuke walked in first, his hand leaning back on the hilt of a chokuto sheathed in his belt. Naruto's eyes flicked towards the weapon, then back to Sasuke. The last Uchiha noticed Naruto's glance and met Naruto's eyes, smirking softly while tapping the hilt of his sword pointedly. Naruto chuckled and shook his head with a small smile on his face.

Sakura Haruno walked in shortly after Sasuke, taking her focus off of him for a brief moment to glance warily at Naruto before returning back to focusing on her obsession. Following after her was the third member of Team 7.

Kazuki Hisakawa sported shoulder-length dark hair of a color that lay between black and grey, that spiked at the sides and the ends, and light blue eyes that strangely enough had a small brown spot on the iris of the left eye. He was wearing a tight fitting sleeveless black shirt that resembled spandex from a distance, alongside standard shinobi pants and sandals. Over the shirt he wore a dark blue jacket with a small wave symbol embossed on the shoulder in light blue.

He glanced around the room, pausing briefly at Naruto to gaze at him warily like his female teammate before walking over to stand next to Sakura while leveling a short glare at Sasuke. A glare which the last Uchiha proceeded to ignore. A few seconds later Kakashi Hatake walked in, his single eye still firmly locked on the orange "novel" in his hand.

Hiruzen looked at Team 7 for a moment before pulling out a small folder.

"Ah, Team 7. Right on time, for once…" the Hokage said with a smile, trailing off to a murmur as he spoke. "I have a mission for the four of you."

"And what mission would that be Hokage-sama?" Kakashi drawled lazily.

"Luckily, since you're here now, the Fire Daimyo's wife has lost her cat and it needs to be retrieved," Hiruzen replied, a somewhat devious smirk on his face.

Kakashi showed no visible reaction, though Naruto got the feeling the Jonin was cackling maniacally on the inside. Sakura showed clear outrage at having received the same mission once again for the umpteenth time. Sasuke kept his face impassive, with the only exceptions being the faint tapping from his fingers drumming along the hilt of his sword and the faint twitch in his left eye. Kazuki on the other hand, had no such restraints.

"You're kidding me! We've got to catch that damn cat all over again? We just caught the furry little bastard yesterday!" Kazuki bellowed angrily. "I'm calling bullshit!"

Whatever else that Kazuki might have said was cut off when Sasuke raised his free hand and whacked the other boy across the back of his head. The dark-haired shinobi rubbed the back of his head and openly glared at Sasuke.

"I really hate you, you bastard," he growled.

"The feeling's mutual loser," Sasuke replied.

Kazuki almost reached for a kunai from his pouch only to receive a right hook from Sakura that sent him flying. Naruto blinked at the sight and looked at Sakura beginning to rant angrily at her teammate before turning back to Sasuke.

"Was she always able to do that on the fly like that?"

"Apparently."

The two briefly shuddered in unison at the thought of what Sakura could do to Sasuke if she ever decided to stop refusing to hurt him. A fangirl with what equated to super-strength was a terrifying thing indeed.

"So we meet again Naruto."

Naruto glanced to his right to see Kakashi standing there holding the folder, apparently having accepted the mission for his team given they were somewhat indisposed at the moment. (Upon realizing this, the twitch in Sasuke's eye returned stronger than ever)

"We keep running into each other don't we Kakashi-san?"

"I suppose so," Kakashi replied, pulling out his "novel" and flipping it open.

Naruto soon had a twitch in his eye to rival Sasuke's at the sight of the book.

"Ah Kakashi my Eternal Rival!" Guy called out, striding over to slap Kakashi on the back. "So how is the training for your team coming along? Any luck with that despite having to do D-Ranks all the time?"

Kakashi glanced up lazily from his book, his single eye half open and staring blankly at the spandex-wearing Jonin.

"Oh, did you say something Guy?"

Guy's joyful face quickly soured to irritation, as he grit his teeth and prepared to let loose an outburst in response to his rival's "hip attitude"

"Kakashi-san, is there any real reason why you cannot hear Guy-san's statements of youth?" Naruto asked.

Both Jonin froze and turned to stare at the blond, not quite comprehending his question.

"Kakashi-san, is it possible that the reason that you state you cannot hear Guy-san's statements of youth because you simply cannot accept that you're weaker than him? Or perhaps it is because his statements of youth constantly remind you of your every growing age, and the fact that your strength is being syphoned away as time continues to march onwards and you slowly begin drag behind Guy-san in the race to determine Konoha's best shinobi?"

Guy grinned widely, subtly throwing a thumbs-up at the blond. Kakashi was so shocked that he dropped his book and didn't bother to pick it back up. Teams Guy and 13 were trying their best not to snicker while Sasuke's teammates stood there blankly. Sasuke gave a small smirk, while the Hokage remained impassive and fought the urge to grin.

A few seconds later, Kakashi managed to shake himself out of his stupor and glare at Naruto.

"Who's to say I'm not still the best shinobi in Konoha?" he retorted calmly, picking up his book as he did.

"Let's see, you've allowed yourself to stagnate and have grown dull, dropping from low S-Rank to medium A-Rank level, while Guy-san has continued to either stay at his current ranking or even move up a rank," Naruto replied, counting off on his fingers. "You are late to everything you do, while Guy-san is up early training hard to become even stronger than he already is, a rather impressive feat given he is one of the few who knows how to open all of the Eight Gates. He has proven to be a strong practitioner and master of taijutsu, while you rely on that crutch of yours hidden beneath that headband."

Naruto lowered his hand and stared directly into Kakashi's shocked eye.

"Need I go on?"

With that, Naruto turned on his heel and walked out the door, his team following shortly after. Team Guy looked over Kakashi for a moment before walking out the door. Guy glanced at his rival and smiled, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry Kakashi! You'll be back to your old self in no time with a bit of good old-fashioned training! Speaking of…"

Guy proceeded to stretch and dash out of the door at blinding speeds, zipping towards the training grounds in a blur of green with a loud cry of "YOUTH!" echoing behind him.

Kakashi stood there in shock, barely able to comprehend what just happened. As his own team walked past him and out the door, Sasuke grabbing the folder as he went, Kakashi stared at the space Naruto occupied moments earlier. The Hokage ignored the Jonin as he went back to reading over the previous day's mission reports.

The silver-haired Jonin stood there, thinking of Naruto with a single thought running through his mind at that moment.

 _"Notice me Kōhai."_

* * *

The group of combined teams crouched down on the hilltop overlooking the camp. Naruto looked over the layout of the camp with a pair of binoculars before lowering them and frowning.

"We were either misled or unaware of how large it is," he remarked to his comrades. "This camp is much larger than the report led us to believe."

"It's possible that the Nukenin have recruited more lowlifes to their command in the time it took us to locate them," Naomi mused, her Byakugan activated as she scanned the camp.

"Just means more people that we have to take out, right?" Ayato asked.

"Indeed," Naruto replied. "However, given our mission is to locate any possible hostages and liberate them before engaging the targets, more people means more guards. In turn, this means you and Sen will have a harder time sneaking through the camp to find them."

"Don't go underestimating us Naruto," Sen said with a small smile. "We're capable enough."

"Right," Guy said. "So let's go over the strategy one last time."

Rize nodded and glanced at Naruto and Naomi. The two nodded as Naomi unrolled a sheet of paper and began sketching a rough map of the camp.

"As far as I can see, the two greatest chakra signatures are located here," she remarked, pointing towards a point on the map. "Therefore it can be concluded that the targets are located there."

"Good," Rize replied. "This mission will be divided into four stages. The first stage will be Ayato and Sen infiltrating the camp and rescuing any hostages, and if possible eliminating any stray guards and lowlifes that you can without raising the alarm."

She turned to Naruto, who was unrolling a scroll that was strapped to his belt to reveal the seal printed there.

"Stage two will be up to Naruto. Using a piece of equipment at his disposal, Naruto will pump in as much toxin as he can into the camp to either weaken or outright kill as many of the followers as we can. Naruto, what effects should the toxin have?"

Naruto looked up from his scroll, having unsealed a device that was comprised of a large tank and several tubes leading towards a strange apparatus attached to a pair of gloves. Hooked onto the side was a device that resembled a hose of sorts with a conical attachment at the end.

"The toxin I've developed for this mission is a relatively simple one, compared to the ones I've been known to create," he remarked with a smirk. "The toxin is designed to not only slowly kill them, but it weakens them by dulling their senses and thus making them easier kills for us. Which reminds me…"

Naruto reached down and pulled out another scroll from his belt and unrolled it to unseal four pairs of gas masks.

"While I'm usually averse to making toxins that can be stopped by a gas mask, I've made an exception here so that I do not accidentally poison any of us. So when stage three is underway, you must be wearing those masks or you will feel the effects of the toxin. And I don't want to be charged with treason for accidentally killing any of you."

"Not that that would stop you…" Tenten muttered under her breath, fingering a kunai that she had been idly spinning by the ring on the end.

Guy glanced at Tenten when he heard that, but said nothing. Naruto simply looked at her for a moment before going back to ignoring her like before. Looking between the two, Guy then moved to speak.

"Once Naruto has pumped the gas into the camp, we will all put on the gas masks and enter the camp to eliminate all hostiles in sight. Use whatever skills at your disposal to take them down. After we've taken out the majority of the hostiles, we move to the fourth and final stage."

"Stage four is where we combat the Nukenin. If we can capture them to send them back to Iwa, fantastic. If we cannot, eliminate them. Either way, the fourth stage will end with a successful mission."

Guy and Rize stood and looked over their students.

"Everyone get some rest and prepare yourselves. We attack once night has completely fallen."

The Genin nodded and split apart to various areas of the campsite to ready themselves. Rock Lee began practicing kicks and punches, Tenten began sharpening some of the various weapons on her person while occasionally leveling a glare at Naruto, and Naomi sat down with her legs crossed and began to meditate quietly.

Ayato sat down and unsheathed his twin wakizashi and stabbed one into the ground point-first, and began cleaning the blade of the other with a cloth. Sen checked the links in her hooked chains and began idly writing in her notebook to pass the time. Naruto meanwhile ignored everyone else and unsealed several bowls, mortars and pestle, and various ingredients which he began carefully mixing together.

While the toxin he was going to blanket the camp of cattle in was quite effective, it never hurt to have an ace in the hole.

* * *

Night had fallen, and Ayato and Sen had already left to initiate stage one of the mission plan. Naomi and Naruto stood watch over the camp once more with binoculars and Byakugan to scan the area carefully.

"You have a potential hostile approaching your location," Naruto uttered lowly over the earpiece his sensei had given their teams. "He should not be too much of a problem to avoid, however if he gets too close you may need to take him out."

 _-Got it. Are there any hostages near our location?-_

"Verifying," Naruto intoned, glancing at Naomi.

"I can see three restrained chakra signatures in a tent five meters to your immediate right," Naomi replied. "Whether they are hostages or members of the group that are being punished cannot be determined."

 _-We'll verify if they are hostages or not, and we'll act accordingly,-_ Sen replied over the radio. _-Just keep an eye on things with Naomi and keep us updated.-_

"Affirmative," Naomi said, continuing to scan the camp.

Naruto looked through the binoculars to see the aforementioned hostile get grabbed from behind by Ayato, who quickly gripped the man by the mouth and side of the head before breaking his neck with a sharp twist.

 _-Not even worth my blade.-_

"Ayato, focus," Naruto said over the radio. "Remember, don't be seen. Get the body out of the way where no others will find it.

 _-I got it already. No need to beat me over the head with it Naruto.-_

Naruto rolled his eyes and idly checked the harness on the large tank and generator now strapped to his back before going back to scanning the camp.

 _-I'm at the site mentioned by Naomi,-_ Sen's voice intoned over the radio. _-They were hostages. I'm releasing them now. I don't suppose you happen to have a recreation of the Yondaime's seal up your sleeve Naruto?-_

"First off, it wasn't the Yondaime's seal, it was the Nidaime's," Naruto replied irritably. "Secondly, even if I had a recreation of the Hiraishin no Jutsu you would need two seals to be able to transport anyone. So regardless if I had it, it would be utterly useless right now."

 _-Just figured I'd ask anyways. Alright, the hostages are freed and I'm sending them out with Ayato. Naomi, are there any others?-_

"None that I can see. I believe that's the last of them," Naomi replied.

"Good," Rize remarked from behind them. "Then we can now progress to stage two. Put on your gas masks you two, and once the hostages are out of the way, give the signal. Naruto, get ready."

"Yes ma'am," Naruto said with a wide gum-baring grin.

He stood and readied himself by pulling his gas mask over his face, preparing for the signal to be given, blue irises not changing color, though his pupil morphed into a slit reminiscent of the Kyuubi for the briefest moment.

 _-The hostages are clear!-_ Ayato's voice sounded. _-Go!-_

Naruto's grin grew wider as he slid down the side of the mountain they were camped on and cupped his hands together. Immediately he began channelling Futon chakra as the generator attached to the tank began pumping toxic gas out of the devices on his palms, focusing and compressing the toxin into a rotating green sphere somewhat similar to that of the Yondaime's second famous technique. Once the sphere was large enough, Naruto removed one hand and raised the sphere of toxin back behind his head.

"Let the games begin," he whispered gleefully.

With those words spoken, he reared his arm back further and hurled the sphere as far as he could towards the center of the camp. Right as the various bandits and cutthroats began to realize something was wrong, the sphere impacted with the ground and exploded in a massive green miasma of toxin that began to spread throughout the camp.

Naruto couldn't help but let out a burst of joyous laughter as he began charging a second sphere of toxin.

* * *

Footsteps echoed across the stone stairs. Slow, calm, precise. The sound of fabric dragging across the floor was heard alongside those steps, as Shuu Tsukiyama descended.

He was clothed in voluminous robes of a royal blue color, inlaid with ornate gold designs in the center and at the edges of the sleeves and feet of the cloth. Shuu's face was set in calm reverence beneath the cavernous depths of the hood pulled over his signature blue hair, his hands clasped before him as he walked.

All the while as he continued to descend, the faint sound of Shuu Tsukiyama's prayers could be heard reverberating throughout the stairway.

* * *

With the majority of their enemies weakened or eliminated by Naruto's gas, Rize and Team Guy charged in with gas masks secured on their faces. Naruto hurled one last ball of toxin into the air before whipping out a scroll and resealing the tank and generator into the seal. Stowing the scroll in his belt, Naruto idly removed two pairs of small vials from another pouch and slipped them into a hidden compartment on his gauntlet. He unsheathed his longsword right as Rize leapt in and bisected a bandit down the middle with a swift unsheathing and resheathing of her katana.

"Dainamikku Entorī! (Dynamic Entry)" Guy bellowed as he leapt forward and sent a flying kick right into the face of another hostile.

Rize unsheathed her katana and stabbed it into the ground and ignited the blade in flames, dashing towards a new opponent and slashing upward from the ground, a wave of fire following the trail of the blade. Sen shot past said opponent and lassoed his legs with a chain and yanked him off his feet before embedding the hook of her other chain into his neck and tearing off his head.

Naruto smirked and charged his blade with electricity, quickly blocking the lunging attack of a bandit wielding a kanabo and slicing the weapon in half. He then lashed out with a kick that caught the man in the neck, instantly sending him into a coughing fit as he clutched at his throat. Lazily spinning his blade, Naruto canceled the electricity and slashed the man in his ankles, sending him choking to the ground.

With an impassive expression on his face, Naruto kicked the bandit's hands away from his neck and cut his throat with a swift slash. Watching emotionlessly as the man began choking on his own blood, Naruto flicked his sword to rid it of the blood on the blade and walked away, leaving the man to die slowly and painfully.

Sighing in boredom, Naruto continued onward, not even looking to the side as he unsheathed his wrist blade and idly impaled another man in the eye before walking away, the wrist blade sheathing in his gauntlet with a loud _-click-_

* * *

Shuu Tsukiyama stepped off the last step in the stairway and entered the room located there. As he stepped into the cavernous room and locked the door, Shuu turned from the door and lowered his hood.

He was standing in a large room that resembled the interior of a cathedral, with candelabras scattered evenly across the room to give off an orange light that mixed with the ethereal purple glow about the room. Small shrines lined the walls with small steps leading up to them, and vines grew from the ground to ensnare the pillars and creep up the walls.

To some it would seem like the abandoned ruin of a church. But to Shuu Tsukiyama, it was not a ruin, nor abandoned. To him, it was a place of worship.

Shuu walked forward to the furthest end of the cathedral to stand before an altar. The altar was comprised of a large golden bowl with blood-red flames alit within the center, ornate runic markings carved around the lip of the bowl. Standing arranged around the back and sides of the altar were three identical candelabras comprised of a single tall candlestick with a piece of metal attached to the center that curved upward in a faint "U" shape with two other candles attached to the ends, with metal supports jutting from the bottom of the central candlestick wrought in intricate curls and coils that connected to the metal U.

Shuu knelt before the altar and clasped his hands before his chest and bowed his head. He then began to pray once more.

"I call upon thee, o benevolent Saint, to hear my plea and bless my insignificance with your presence."

As he spoke, the blood-red flames glowed a bit brighter and increased in size.

* * *

Naomi ducked under the incoming slash of a bandit as her teammate Lee replicated his sensei's flying kick right into the face of said bandit. As Lee somersaulted backwards, Naomi quickly cupped her hands and caught Lee's foot before launching him higher into the air. Naomi turned to see a trio of hostiles charging at her as she readied her stance with Byakugan blazing.

"Hakke Kusho! (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm)"

With a swift palm thrust through the air, a blast of solidified air rocketed from her hand to strike the trio, sending them flying through the sky until they were instantly killed by several kunai hurled from Tenten's hands.

The bun-haired girl had a somewhat manic grin on her face, having finally been allowed to cut loose and release some of her pent-up frustration and anger from having to be in the same proximity as Naruto for the last couple of days. Lee drop-kicked another hostile from the air, wincing slightly as the man's skull caved under his foot, before turning to stare at Tenten. The girl was now hurling kunai and other weaponry at any hostile in sight, laughing in a way that was even more joyous and psychotic than Naruto when he first launched the poison spheres.

Needless to say, Lee made a swift mental note to stay out of his weapon-loving teammate's path for the remainder of the mission. He liked being alive and experiencing the Springtime of his Youth, thank you very much.

Rize dashed past several lowlifes and swiftly sheathed her katana, a small smile on her face as they split apart and soaked the ground with copious amounts of blood. Ayato had by this point forgotten all about his wakizashi, which were sheathed at his side, in favor of fighting in pure hand to hand combat. He tackled opponent after opponent, breaking bones and splitting the skin with his bare hands with a grin on his face.

Had he not been in full view of Team Guy, Ayato would have happily succumbed to some of his baser instincts and indulged in the feast before him.

Naruto blazed through several foes, blade alight with lightning once more, impaling and bisecting any hostile in his path. Unlike his teammates, he had a rather bored expression on his face as he uncaringly and systematically killed those that stood in his way. The only hint on his masked face that he was enjoying this was the fact that his eyes were now maroon, and every now and again he let a small chuckle slip through his composed demeanor.

"We appear to be running out of hostiles to eliminate," he called out to his teammates. "Also if I'm not mistaken, my toxin appears to be dispersing. We need to move quickly if we are to subdue the Nukenin while the effects still last."

"I thought this toxin lasted for quite a while!" Ayato yelled from his position, twisting a bandit's head a full 180 degrees.

"It does!" Naruto retorted irritably, decapitating another hostile with his longsword. "However we do not know if they have a form of resistance to poisons or if they put on gas masks like ourselves! Not to mention the targets themselves are far stronger than the cannon fodder we've been wading through for the past half an hour, so we will have a challenge on our hands regardless if they have been weakened by the toxin or not!"

"You don't need to be so pissed off about it!" Ayato angrily yelled, crushing the chest of a bandit under his boot.

"Just finish up and find the damn targets, and fast!"

Naomi glanced around with her Byakugan and froze.

"We don't need to find them," she called.

"Why?" Lee replied, sending his opponent flying with a spinning kick.

"Because they're already here," Rize remarked, focusing on the two figures exiting one of the tents.

Both were wearing gas masks. Upon seeing this, Naruto let out a loud groan.

"This is why I don't make toxins that can be blocked by gas masks!"

Naruto's retort was carefully filed away as Rize looked over the two Nukenin before them. One of them was a man and the other a woman, with the woman clearly appearing to be the one in charge. The man was thin and wiry, having an appearance that somewhat resembled a weasel, while the woman was tall and muscular, sporting one piercing emerald eye and one eye that was clouded over with a trio of jagged scars crossing over the eyelid. Both sported somewhat tattered Iwa headbands with a scratch through the village symbol.

As the last of the toxin dispersed into the wind that blew through the camp, the two Nukenin looked at each other and nodded before carefully removing the gas masks. Upon seeing that they were suffering no adverse effects, Naruto and his teammates removed their own masks and stood at the ready.

Both groups stood across from one another, carefully analyzing the other group with hands on their weapons. Naruto subtly adjusted the gauntlet on his arm and slipped his finger into the compartment and adjusted the vial located there.

"Did you truly think you could come into my camp, slaughter my men, and think to get away with it?" the female Nukenin asked lowly, her teeth bared slightly in a snarl. "For while I still draw breath, you shall not escape the likes of me, Suté of the Iron Fist!"

The now-named Suté raised her fist and clenched it as wisps of steam began to curl off of her skin and into the air. Naruto eyed the phenomenon warily and sighed.

"Of all the kekkai genkai to have," he muttered irritably. "It had to be the Futton (Boil Release)."

* * *

As Shuu Tsukiyama knelt before the altar and continued to pray, the vermillion flames brightened and leapt higher into the air.

The flames began twisting and forming into the vague shape of the upper half of a skull with tendrils of flames coiling off of its face. Shuu clasped his hands tighter and bowed lower, his forehead touching the floor as he knelt.

 _ **"Arise, thou who art one of my Blessed."**_

Shuu rose up, still kneeling before the altar and stared at the fiery skull within the bowl.

"You have come o Great One," he whispered.

 _ **"Call mine name, and I shall answer thine call Shuu Tsukiyama. Thou hast served my order for years, so why would I not appear to those who are faithful?"**_

"I would not presume to see myself as important enough in the vastness of the world to be worthy of your attention Great Saint," Shuu replied softly, bowing his head.

 _ **"Yet here I am before thee, speaking to thee as plain as night and day."**_

The image of the skull twitched for a moment, looking off to the side before focusing back on Shuu.

 _ **"Now Shuu, tell me what you know of the boy. Tell me of Naruto Uzumaki."**_

* * *

Naruto rolled out of the way to avoid the steaming fist that impacted the ground where he was standing moments earlier, creating a new crater to go with the ones Suté had been making for the past few minutes.

Having read about the Futton bloodline in one of the books that the Walrider had recommended a while ago, Naruto was thankful at least that the woman attempting to crush him had not manifested the unique chakra nature as a gas that would be breathed out around him. While dangerous when focused beneath the skin as steam to enhance the user's strength, if released as a gas it would effectively melt just about anything except the caster themselves. So he was lucky that Suté of the Iron Fist did not show this ability.

Although, knowing his luck at times, it was entirely possible that she was able to use her bloodline in that form but had simply chosen not to. There was also the fact that her weasly companion was lurking in the background observing the battle. Whether he had any special abilities was currently an unknown, and Naruto hated wild cards in regards to battle.

Unfortunately for Naruto, right as this thought finished running through his head, he felt a massive force impact with his chest that immediately gave him a feeling of deja vu from earlier in the week.

Rize's eyes widened in horror as Suté's fist smashed into Naruto's torso and sent him flying several yards away and impacting the ground, his eyes open in shock, barely seeming to comprehend what just happened. The purple-haired Jonin turned to the other woman and decided to forgo all form of calm and collected personality in favor of blinding rage.

She swiftly tied the _sageo_ of her katana around her waist and unsheathed the sword with a fluid motion, the blade igniting in a mixture of fire and lightning as her sclera bled black and her irises burned crimson.

Suté, not noticing the change in Rize's features, smirked.

"Seems the runt wasn't all hot shit like he thought he was, huh?" she remarked. "He talked all that smack, yet couldn't back it up."

Rize's eyes blazed, the sifting energy channeling through her blade increasing in size and intensity. Ayato glanced over at his sensei and noticed the change in her eyes. His own eyes narrowing, he subtly touched the earpiece in his right ear.

"Sen, wherever you are, finish up quickly and get your ass over here. Naruto's down until he can heal and Rize's losing it!"

 _-How badly is she losing it?-_

"Really badly! Her eyes have changed already, and if we don't do something quickly she could blow our cover!"

 _-Shit. Okay, I'm on the way!-_

"Hurry!" Ayato hissed as he drew his wakizashi.

Rize snarled in pure unadulterated fury as she lunged at Suté with blade blazing. Suté's cocky expression slid into concern as she quickly held up a steaming fist to block the sword. The katana slid off of her forearm, leaving a cut along the skin that immediately had the woman frowning. Then her frown formed into a grin.

"Well, looks like I finally have a decent challenge then."

The purple-haired Jonin grit her teeth and gripped her blazing katana tightly in both hands and slid into her stance while Suté held up her other hand and clenched it into a fist as steam began pouring out of her skin. The two women lunged at each other and began attacking each other furiously, blazing blade to steaming fists as Rize and Suté matched each other blow for blow. Both fought fiercely and with all their might, Rize's face contorted in rage while Suté grinned madly.

All the while, Naruto groaned and grit his teeth as his broken body slowly knit itself back together. Fighting through the pain, he slowly moved his hand to his belt to extract a third scroll. As he removed the scroll, he unstrapped the silver gauntlet on his arm and opened the compartment to extract the vials hidden there. Dabbing a finger in the bloodstain blossoming on his chest (inwardly cursing that he had worn his usual vest for this mission, and silently praying the blood would come out in the wash) Naruto ran his bloody finger across the scroll.

With a small puff of smoke, Naruto took the second gauntlet off of the scroll and attached the vials to the bottom. He sat up with a grimace and secured the gauntlet to his arm, sealing the previous gauntlet in the scroll.

* * *

 _ **"He has grown capable as he has gotten older, has he not?"**_

"Naruto has indeed honed his skills, most likely as a result of the hatred the Village shows him, for the purpose of changing how they see him."

 _ **"Naruto has indeed changed how the Village sees him, changing hatred into fear. A much more satisfying change than if he had attempted to get them to simply acknowledge him, so I have thee to thank for making sure he didn't grow up with his father's mindset,"**_ the voice remarked with a pleased tone.

"Minato Namikaze isn't his father in my eyes, nor in Naruto's," Shuu muttered irritably.

 _ **"But if the world knew and were to ask, his father would indeed be their beloved Fourth Shadow of Fire, no matter what the beliefs of thyself and Naruto happen to be."**_

"Unfortunately."

 _ **"Is he aware of what thou are?"**_

"He learned just recently, shortly before he signed your summoning contract."

 _ **"Yes, I was aware that he signed it, as I received the report of the judgement set upon him when he first summoned from the contract. While a difficult challenge for him, I was pleased to note that Naruto was able to pass the judgement. Has he summoned since then?"**_

"I am currently unaware of whether he has summoned, but I believe he hasn't as of yet. He has been focused on a side project of his that some of my scientists are aiding him with, as well as developing a few new toxins for usage during his missions."

 _ **"Of course, he has also been partaking of his usual form of cuisine, has he not?"**_

"Yes. He is still remaining quite subtle yet terrifying to the civilians of the Village, as no one is sure when he will strike next."

 _ **"Excellent."**_

* * *

Rize continued her enraged frenzy of slashes and stabs, lightning and fire trailing after each blow and firing off as a projectile with each attack of the katana. Suté continued to block or dodge whatever came her way, occasionally capitalizing on openings left by Rize in her anger to launch steam-covered fists at her opponent.

The muscular woman raised both fists into the air and brought them down onto the ground, shattering the earth beneath her and causing it to split apart.

Rize jumped out of the way and leapt forward with her blade at the ready once more. Right as she attacked with a downward slash that caught Suté across the chest, the surprised form of the muscular woman exploded in smoke to reveal a charred and bisected log in her place. Rize's eyes widened in shock right as a fist slammed into her unguarded side, breaking several ribs in the process as she went flying. The purple-haired Jonin slammed against a tree and coughed up blood, the black in her sclera and the red in her iris fading away as she slumped to the ground.

Suté grinned maliciously as she cockily blew steam from her fist. Her weasley companion smirked from his place on the side as he gripped a tanto sheathed in his belt.

"Katon: Goukyaku no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)"

The woman turned and stepped aside to avoid the large fireball launched her way, ignoring the terrified shriek of her companion as he dived for cover. Suté sneered in the direction of where Ayato stood, dropping his handseal to grip the hilts of his wakizashi.

"You're going to need a lot more firepower than that to take me on you little shit," she growled.

Ignoring her comment, Ayato unsheathed his blades and ignited the blades in flames. Suté smirked as steam began emitting from her fists once more. She raised her arm in the air and prepared to bring it smashing down to the ground. Right as she was about to do this however, a barbed chain with a hook attached to the end lassoed around her wrist and was yanked back. Suté roared as the barbs and hook dug into her skin before glancing down the length of the chain.

Sen merely gave a grin as she continued to pull the chain taut. Suté screamed in rage and stood her ground, pulling back on the chain akin to a twisted game of tug of war while digging her feet into the earth beneath her, uncaring of the blood running down her arm from the shorn skin.

As Suté continued pulling against Sen's grip, the green-haired girl focused to her left and lashed out with a second chain, ensnaring the other woman's partner, who proceeded to yelp in a manner similar to the animal he resembled, his camouflage technique ending as the barbs on the chain links bit into his skin. Suté grit her teeth and turned to block the flaming blade of Ayato with her free fist before backhanding him hard enough to send him skidding a few feet back. She then proceeded to grip the chain with her free hand and pull as hard as she could.

Sen, while being quite strong in her own right, was currently performing the task of holding down two opponents with her chains. With her attention thus divided, she was unprepared for Suté's counter and was pulled in her direction.

As Sen went flying, Suté's partner shook off the chains and quickly formed a handseal before vanishing with his camouflage technique. Her second chain now freed, Sen dug her feet in the ground and wrapped the metal lash around Suté's other wrist and pulled as hard as she could. Suté growled as the chains continued to bite into her skin, before she sneered and inhaled.

"Futton: Kōmu no Jutsu! (Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique)"

Suté exhaled out a thin vapor onto the chains, causing them to rust and corrode. Flexing her wrists, she shattered the chains and lunged towards Sen. Once again the girl was caught off guard, but not so much that she was unable to roll out of the way of the steaming uppercut sent her way. Suté grinned maliciously and prepared to charge once more, only to pause when she felt something leap onto her back.

Naruto, now relatively healed from her punch, sneered down at her as he raised his right arm, baring the new gauntlet for all to see. Unlike his previous gauntlet that was made of polished silver, this one was crafted of bronze with four glass cylinders filled with sulfur-yellow liquid attached to the side that was located on his forearm, with tubes leading from the cylinders to four syringes that curved inward like claws protruding from the back of the glove.

The blond clenched his hand into a fist, the syringes on his gauntlet extending forward half an inch as the plungers depressed completely before pulling back, filling the syringes with the sulfurous liquid. Naruto quickly brought his fist down and jabbed the syringes into Suté's neck, depressing the plungers and injecting the liquid into her veins.

Suté screamed in rage and swung her fists wildly over her shoulders, steam billowing faster than before from her skin, furiously trying to dislodge Naruto.

Naruto merely ducked down close to her skin and readied his syringes again before jabbing her once more. Once the second dose was injected, he used Suté's back as a springboard to launch himself away from her. The muscular woman lunged at him with several swift punches, none of them hitting their mark. Naruto landed a few feet away and looked at her, raising an eyebrow as he relaxed his hand and allowed the syringes to return to their resting position.

"Seems my paranoia about your kekkei genkai was misplaced, you barely use the gases for ranged combat, preferring to swing your fists about like an ape. How pathetic."

"The fuck did you just say to me!?" Suté bellowed.

"Odd, I was unaware of the fact that you were deaf as well as moronic," Naruto mused. "Do you wish for me to repeat what I said?"

Suté screamed in rage and lunged for the blond again, Naruto ducking and rolling away from the charging woman. He stood and brushed off his sleeves and glanced back at Suté. He stared at her seemingly unaffected form and looked down at the gauntlet on his arm.

"Strange,' he muttered. "I could have swore I gave her a much larger dose, doubly so. So why is she not showing any symptoms?"

Right on cue, Suté leapt at him with a steaming fist, and slammed it into the ground a few feet to his left. The woman gripped her hand and grit her teeth, a fraction of pain showing on her face. Naruto looked at her again, then back at the gauntlet before looking back up.

"Ah. There it is."

Watching as Suté stumbled and shook her head, her eyes becoming increasingly out of focus, Naruto clenched his fist and readied the syringes once more.

"Still, one can never be too sure."

As the woman swayed where she stood, Naruto shot forward and jabbed the syringes into the side of her neck and injected another dose of the toxin within. Suté's eyes widened as she bellowed angrily and began swinging wildly at Naruto. He responded by casually sidestepping each punch before jabbing his fist into her stomach.

Suté coughed and opened her mouth in a silent scream before stumbling backwards. She quickly raised a hand to her face before she began to vomit over the ground. Naruto jumped backwards, disgust clear on his face. The muscular woman collapsed on all fours as she continued coughing, though the vomit appeared to have stopped. She gasped and attempted to stand, only to scream in pain before falling back down on the ground.

"Why!? How!?" she managed to rasp. "How did I become so weak in such a short amount of time!?" Suté looked up as much as she could without screaming to focus on Naruto. "What the hell did you do to me you bastard!?"

"Are you really that much of an imbecile?" Naruto asked as he walked over, carefully stepping around the puddles of sick she left behind. "Do you really need that much help just to realize what I've done to you?"

As Naruto spoke, he idly flexed his fist open and closed, extending and retracting the syringes on his gauntlet. Upon seeing this, Suté's eyes widened.

"You… you poisoned me?"

"Well, it seems even a thoughtless beast can have some moments of clarity after all," Naruto replied mockingly. "I wonder if you might even have the mental fortitude to discern what effects are present from the toxin?"

Suté did not respond, and instead began coughing violently and started to add to the already splattered ground with blood that spewed from her mouth. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the puddle of blood mixing with the vomit from earlier and thought for a moment.

"I don't recall that as a side effect," he mused before shrugging. "Must have just killed the test subject too quickly for it to show. Or it's an added effect from a larger dose that has been tripled in the target's veins."

Naruto looked down at Suté for a moment longer before turning to Ayato and Sen.

"Sen. Grab sensei and heal her up as quickly as you can. Ayato, you go find Team Guy and see if they require any aid finishing off the remainder of those dullards."

His two teammates shared a glance before nodding and taking off to complete their tasks. Naruto focused back on Suté as she struggled to stay in a kneeling position, her legs threatening to give out at any moment.

"I suppose I would have to give you the antidote if we have to capture you alive," he remarked, causing the woman to tiredly look up with a glimmer of hope in her eye. "But then again, capturing you alive was considered an optional objective. Besides, why would I ever synthesise an antidote for a toxin that I intend to kill someone with? Not to mention…"

At this point Naruto stuck his fist out and struck her invisible associate in the face, sending him sprawling and ending his Camouflage technique.

"We really only need one of you alive to get the information we need before shipping them back to Iwa."

Naruto slammed his foot into the man's stomach, eliciting a scream from the man before stepping off him. He carefully unhooked the four vials from the side of the gauntlet and stoppered them before sealing them away. Naruto then unsealed four vials containing a dark orange liquid and strapped them in place on the gauntlet.

Meanwhile, Sen had managed to heal Rize enough so she could stand and was supporting the purple-haired Jonin as she walked to Naruto's location.

"Sensei, glad to see you're still in one piece as far as I can tell," Naruto remarked.

"Same to you Naruto," Rize admitted wearily. "I'll admit, it probably wasn't the best idea to lose my temper like that."

"I'll say," Sen muttered irritably. She glanced at Suté, who was by now lying on the ground appearing to be silently begging for death. "What should we do about her?"

"Depends," Rize replied. "Does Naruto have an antidote to his toxin?"

"Does Kurenai read smut?"

"... Guess not."

"You already know my stance on antidotes, so why bother asking?" Naruto remarked.

"Well sorry, but I'm pretty sure I hit my head when I was sent into that tree," Rize groaned. "Some things are a bit fuzzy right now."

"Well, guess that means the coward over there gets to live, provided he doesn't try and run," Ayato noted as he returned, Team Guy following a short distance behind him. "You got something to knock him out Naruto?"

"In a sense," Naruto replied with a gum-baring grin. "Barring that, I'm sure I may have a genjutsu or two that could do the trick."

Upon hearing that, the weasley man began snickering before bursting into laughter.

"You honestly think Suté would have let me stay on if I would pass out or crack due to a genjutsu? If so, then you Leaf fuckers are dumber than I thought!"

"And the weasel speaks," Naruto remarked with amusement clear in his tone. "No matter. I'll handle him."

"What about Suté?" Ayato called out.

"Do whatever you want with her," Naruto replied, waving a hand dismissively as he walked past the dying woman. "Let her suffer or put her out of her misery, I don't care which."

Ayato nodded and looked down at Suté, unsheathing one of his wakizashi as Naruto continued advancing towards her companion. Sensing something was indeed different, the man's cocky demeanor faded instantly as he frantically tried to scramble away from Naruto. The blond retaliated by landing a kick in his back that sent him falling to the ground before grabbing the man by the back of the neck and lifting him back up.

"No, please! Whatever you're doing, please don't!" the man wailed, fear evident in his eyes.

Naruto ignored his pleas and clenched his fist, filling the syringes with the orange liquid. He then carefully jabbed the needles into the man's neck and injected him with a dose of the contents of the syringes. Once the plungers were fully depressed, he removed the needles and dropped the man before turning him to face him.

Eying the man's terrified demeanor, Naruto raised a handsign and focused his chakra. The man's eyes began darting around in horror, his skin becoming clammier and clammier until he began screaming in abject terror, screaming until Naruto knocked him out with a chop to the neck. Satisfied, he slung the unconscious man over his shoulder and walked over to his teammates. Ayato eyed the man before looking back at Naruto.

"What exactly does that toxin do?"

"That particular toxin stimulates the secretion of chemicals in the brain in such a way that it enhances fear and makes the imagination go all the more wild, to the point where a blank genjutsu such as the one I cast upon him instantly morphs into his greatest fears due to his now overactive imagination. By knocking him out, I've trapped him in what equates to his deepest, darkest nightmares. When he awakens in the T&I department back in Konoha, he'll be so terrified that he'll instantly spill whatever he knows to anyone who asks, purely in the hope that his nightmares will go away," Naruto replied.

"Will they go away?" Sen asked. "The nightmares."

Based on the widening of Naruto's grin, the members of his team and Team Guy already could tell the answer to that question. Sure.

"No. They will haunt him for the rest of his days."

* * *

 _ **"Yet this is not all that young Naruto has been up to in his spare time, has he not?"**_

"No, he has another operation on the side that he has been working," Shuu replied. "He believes that I have no idea about this project of his, but I have my ways of knowing."

 _ **"Then by all means, inform me of his accomplishments."**_

"He has become quite adept at subterfuge, and is also very competent as a businessman in the profession of trading information. Not to mention Naruto has those occasional jobs of his where he goes to either eliminate a target or nudge events in the right direction to end in a target's death with nothing leading back to him."

 _ **"Who exactly does he sell this information to? I am correct in assuming it isn't Konoha that he does business with."**_

"You are correct Your Holiness," Shuu replied. "He operates under an alias and very rarely meets his clients in person, preferring to speak through random people he hires via Brother Sum of the Axe Gang or someone he has threatened into doing it, and is willing to sell the information to the highest bidder."

The blue-haired man allowed himself a small smirk.

"Naruto also plans and arranges for various crimes to take place. People with an interest in breaking the law will contact and pay him in exchange for planning out so-called 'perfect' crimes for their benefit. He has shown himself to be quite the expert when it comes to these jobs, ranging from forgery, faking a client's death, and even smuggling rare valuables across country." Shuu chuckled. "Naruto considers himself to be a kind of 'consulting criminal.'"

 _ **"Interesting. I will look forward to see where this moves forward for young Naruto,"** _ the voice remarked. _ **"Continue to update me on his accomplishments as they come up, for I am certain that Naruto will continue to impress."**_

"Yes Your Holiness," Shuu replied, bowing his head once more.

The crimson flames lost their shape, fading back into normal shape of flames. Shuu clasped his hands and murmured a small prayer at the altar before standing up and brushing dust off of his robes. He turned and began to walk towards the stairs at the end of the room.

* * *

The robed figure slowly opened her eyes, looking up to gaze around the chapel in which she was currently occupying.

She stood from the throne that she had been lounging in and began to slowly stride forward, each step accompanied by a resounding clap of her heels hitting the stone tile floors. As she strode through the cathedral, stepping through beams of dull multicolored light raining through the stained glass windows and idly passing by the robed worshipers kneeling in the direction of her throne.

While she continued her pace, occasionally a few of the kneeling figures would look up and raise their hands towards her, seemingly just hoping to obtain a brief touch of her robes as she passed before returning to their kneeling, praying softly under their breath.

She allowed herself a small sickly smile as she walked past her worshipers, continuing onward until she reached a set of doors at the end of the cathedral's hall. With a casual wave of her hand, the doors opened and she walked out onto a balcony. She leaned over the edge, gazing out over the lands below before focusing on the horizon. Her smile quickly grew into a wide grin, her teeth slowly lengthening into shark-like fangs.

"Thou hast become very interesting thus far Naruto Uzumaki," she remarked softly as she gazed into the distance. "Yet I can sense that more trails will be in thy path. How wilst thou deal with them, I wonder?"

Her grin seemed to grow slightly larger as she leaned on the railing of the balcony.

"However thou may face these tests, I will continue to watch thee with great interest."

 _ **End Chapter**_

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Phantom- Finally! I can't believe how long it took to get this chapter finished, with various roadblocks along the way (most if not all of them being my fault, and would have had this chapter done much later if not for Morgoth giving me a kick in the ass every now and then) the chapter is finished. I will go ahead and say this, it was also due to Morgoth that this chapter is as long as it is. His logic was that since I haven't been writing for a while due to classes, what better way to come back to writing than to give an extra long chapter?**

 **Morgoth- I have to say, it took nearly two and a half months, but we finally completed it and I have to say, I'm quite interested in hearing all of your thoughts on the progress of Naruto, we've also added a few elements from a few more fandoms, so kudos to anyone who figures it out.**

 **Phantom- Indeed. But regardless, hopefully you all enjoyed this new chapter of Nightmare Incarnate, leave a favorite, review, whatever you feel like. And we'll see you in the next post, which will most likely be a new chapter in the story of Sauron in Tamriel in There and Back Again. See ya on the flip side!**

 **Morgoth- Farewell, and remember the Great Journey lies ahead.**

(1): Dark Sun Gwyndolin/Moonlight Butterfly theme (Dark Souls OST) - Motoi Sakuraba

 **7/23/2016**

 **Phantom: Right, I apologize for anyone who thought this was a chapter update (I'm still not quite sure how the site sends out emails and the like for updated stories) but it's not. I was rereading this chapter today so Morgoth and I could get a good idea of where to start on chapter 5 of this particular story, only to notice quite a few grammatical errors that slipped past us. So with a new chapter in the works, I figured it would be best to go ahead and correct these errors, as well as add a few sentences here and there to better clarify parts of the story. Again, my apologies if I confused anyone with the update.**

 **But don't worry! As of right now, Morgoth and I are working on the latest chapter, and it should be finished and posted within a reasonable frame of time for a chapter to be written.**

 **Thanks for your patience, and thanks again for tuning in to read our stories! See ya on the flip side!**


	5. Chapter 5

Nightmare Incarnate

Chapter 5: The Devouring of Waves

 _ **Author's Notes:**_

 **Phantom- How's it going everybody, and welcome back to** _ **Nightmare Incarnate**_ **! I apologize for the long wait, but classes and exams took up a large portion of my time, leaving little free time to actually work on my writing. I have gotten things under wraps for the time being, so hopefully we can return to a semi-regular schedule of updating. Without further ado, I present to you the latest chapter of** _ **Nightmare Incarnate**_ **.**

"I'll admit, you've surprised me the last couple weeks. I'd almost say you've gotten your Futon affinity down."

"I may be getting the hang of it now, but I still think my Suiton techniques are better!"

"Just because you've trained with it longer and are more used to it, that's why they seem superior to the Futon that you've started training with. With enough time and practice, both elements will come to you just as easily."

The young woman sighed as she glanced at her white-haired teacher.

"I know, but it still feels weird to be using wind after using water for so long!"

"Hey, I know the feeling," the older man replied. "I learned how to use fire first, so when Sarutobi taught me how to use earth it was equally strange for me then as it is for you with wind now. Don't let it get to your head, you'll get it down just like I did." He shook his head and chuckled. "You've got it a bit easier than I did, since I have three affinities instead of just two."

"Guess you're right," she replied with a sigh. "I hate it when you start acting like a wise old man though. It means I have to start taking you seriously for once!"

"Hey, I can be wise when I want to be!" he retorted, a slight twitch forming in one eye. "I'm a hermit after all!"

"Hermit, right…" the girl remarked with a sly smirk. "Hermit in name only you mean. And don't give me that look! You aren't a poor as you make yourself out to be, you're just a cheapskate who doesn't want to spend all his 'hard-earned' money!"

The white-haired man crossed his arms and grumbled childishly under his breath, his wooden _geta_ sandals clacking a little more forcefully on the compacted dirt beneath his feet.

"Lousy no-good students making fun of their teachers," he whined quietly. "I mean really! Doesn't she know who I am by now?"

"First off, you are Jiraiya the infamous Super-Pervert. And secondly, I can still hear you ya know."

"That was the point Aiko."

"Fine, act like a brat then. Then I won't have to worry about you trying to intrude on my turf."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes, but said nothing in response. Aiko smirked victoriously as she reached into her travel bag and pulled out a slightly worn copy of an orange book. Brushing her bangs out of her face, she flipped open the book to the place where a piece of red cloth marked the page before starting to read.

Taking note of the book in her hand, Jiraiya grinned.

"I'm the Super-Pervert eh?" he casually remarked. "Yet you're the one reading my books in public."

"Public? We're the only ones on the road right now, so that's a load of shit and you know it," Aiko replied, turning a page with her thumb. "As for the book, while a perverted old man you may be, but I give credit where credit is due. And _Icha-Icha_ is a well-written series."

Jiraiya chuckled in response, quietly pumping a victorious fist in the air at the sight of his student still reading his book. He glanced down the road and gently nudged Aiko with his elbow.

"Well in a couple minutes you will be reading that in public, cause we're just about there."

Looking up, Aiko quickly moved her bookmark to the current open page and closed the book. She then stowed it in her bag, hiking up the strap on her shoulder to pull the bag further up her back. As the two walked into town, she glanced back at her mentor.

"Where did you say the location was that we were meeting your friend?"

"It's at one of the bars," he replied. "Little hole-in-the-wall, kinda out of the way, sort of a small place but serves great drinks nonetheless."

Jiraiya scanned the streets, shifting his gaze through the various shops and restaurants lining the sides of the streets. His brow furrowed as a frown formed on his face.

"Huh, could have sworn it was in this area…" he murmured quietly.

"Lost again?" Aiko remarked with a teasing smirk.

"I'm not lost!" Jiraiya hissed back, the twitch returning to his eye as Aiko snickered. "I haven't been here in awhile, so my memory is a bit hazy!"

"To me, that's hermit-talk for 'I'm going senile,' ya know."

Jiraiya grit his teeth and abruptly whacked his student in the back of her head with his fist.

"Well if I'm going senile, then that means you're the one who has to take care of me brat!" he retorted with a grin.

Aiko rubbed her head and glared at the older man.

"That better not be your way of saying that you want me to wear a sexy nurse outfit," she growled.

"I'm not going to say I am, but I'm not going to say I'm not," Jiraiya replied with a cheeky grin.

Aiko pinched the bridge of her nose, silently wondering whether breaking his nose was a good idea or not, before replying.

"Just find the damn bar before I break some part of your body."

Jiraiya proceeded to chuckle and fall silent before returning to his search. After a few more seconds of scanning, he spoke once more.

"There it is. Man, they really need a bigger sign."

Aiko silently agreed, seeing as Jiraiya was pointing out a door in a wall with a flickering neon sign above it.

" _When he meant hole-in-the-wall, he sure wasn't kidding."_

Once they were inside, Jiraiya led Aiko over to one of the empty booths in the corner of the establishment. As the two finished sitting down, a rather attractive brunette wearing a uniform walked over to the pair with a notepad and pencil in hand.

"What can I get you two?"

Jiraiya quickly forced his eyes away from the woman's chest to look up at her face, eliciting an eyeroll from his apprentice. He leaned back in the seat and grinned in a somewhat suggestive manner.

"Well gorgeous, how about we-"

The remainder of Jiraiya's question was cut off when Aiko delivered a swift kick to his shin. The older man yelped and began cursing under his breath while Aiko gave an innocent smile.

"Don't mind him," she remarked. "He's getting old, so you know how old men are."

She glanced back down at the menu before looking back up at the waitress.

"I'll have an order of shiboritate."

The brunette scrawled it down on her pad before turning to look at the still groaning Jiraiya.

"And for him?" We should keep him sober enough to know what's going on.

"Get him an daiginjo," Aiko replied. "And if you don't mind me saying, you are absolutely gorgeous."

A faint tinge of pink began dusting the waitress' cheeks as she wrote down the last part of the order and walked away. Aiko watched her leave, casually leaning to the side as she left.

"Damn," she muttered to herself with a lecherous smirk.

Jiraiya rubbed his shin under the table and shot a dirty look at his student.

"I can't believe you just robbed me like that again!" he hissed.

"With how often you try and steal what money I actually have, what I'm doing can be related to payback. Besides, she clearly saw you ogling her rack and wasn't interested from the beginning," Aiko replied. "I can at least be subtle when I need to be."

"Which isn't often," Jiraiya muttered ruefully.

Aiko ignored her mentor in favor of looking at the returning waitress. As she set the two bottles of sake on the table, Aiko flashed her a quick wink, prompting the pink tinge to return to her cheeks. After delivering their order, the waitress turned and walked towards the other end of the establishment, unaware of Aiko's gaze following her retreating form.

Jiraiya scowled and poured himself a saucer of sake and downed it in one gulp. He licked his lips for a moment before looking back at Aiko.

"What did you order me?"

"I got you some daiginjo," she replied, downing her own saucer's contents. "Be grateful I didn't get you one of the stronger ones, given you need to be still relatively sober for when your contact shows up."

Jiraiya grudgingly nodded and poured himself another saucer. The two sat in silence, drinking their sake, until the booth seated directly behind Jiraiya became occupied. The man sat calmly in a relaxed slouch as he gave his order. Once the server had left, the man glanced around for a moment before yawning. As he yawned, his left hand extended out of the booth towards Jiraiya with an outstretched envelope. Jiraiya quickly took the envelope as the man retracted his hand.

Downing the contents of his saucer, Jiraiya opened the envelope and extracted the letter within. Carefully perusing the written contents, he folded the paper back up and slipped it to Aiko.

"We've been recalled."

"Really?" Aiko asked.

"Yep. Read over that, it's got all the details."

Aiko glanced over the letter as a small smile formed on her face.

"It'll definitely be good to see the old man again," she remarked quietly.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Ayato asked. "You invited Naruto over to your house for dinner?"

"That is correct," Rize remarked, glancing over at Ayato. "Why do you ask?"

"That's just it. Why did you invite him over? And for dinner of all things?"

"He's a part of the team Ayato," Eto stated as she idly paced around the living room. "Forming a bond with Naruto is a key part of a team in the first place, not to mention it's still technically our mission to keep him grounded and make sure he isn't a flight risk like the Sandaime fears. Rize having him over for dinner will help develop a sort of connection between them, maybe even getting him to open up to us."

Ayato remained silent, opting to continue leaning against the wall. Eto sat herself down on the couch and picked up her notebook and began idly writing in it.

"I still don't get why he hasn't calmed down a bit. I mean, we've been a team for about a month or two now right?"

"Naruto always keeps secrets Ayato, you know that," Rize replied. "And as far as he's aware, me and Tsukiyama are the only other people in Konoha who share his particular brand of cuisine. Though he may not outwardly show it, he'll always be careful not to slip up and accidentally reveal it to you."

"Then why didn't you tell him about us when you revealed that you were one as well?"

Rize sighed as she put a hand on the katana still tied around her waist.

"We had already dumped a lot of information on him at the time, so I felt it best not to push it."

Ayato crossed his arms and leveled a look at his sensei.

"Look, the past is in the past, and arguing will get us nowhere, so just drop it. I've already invited Naruto over for dinner later today after training."

The blue-haired closed his eyes and exhaled softly.

"Whatever you say _taicho_ ," he replied.

"Good. Now, we should probably get moving. We have training in about an hour, so each of you go get ready."

"What about Naruto?" Ayato asked. "It's possible he forgot we have training today, so shouldn't someone go remind him?"

"Naruto isn't a forgetful person Ayato," Eto stated, absentmindedly picking up the newspaper on the coffee table. "Given the front page today, I'd say he's probably catching up on some much-needed sleep."

Ayato nodded in understanding, idly scanning the bold print exclaiming " _Another Body Found: the Voracious Strikes Again!"_ as well as the large black-and-white photo of members of the police force holding a wrapped bundle.

"Yeah, I guess that would wear a guy out, even someone like Naruto," Ayato remarked. "Energetic bastard he may be, but he's still only human."

Eto turned the paper back around to scan the front page for a moment before setting it down on the cushion beside her.

"So who's going to go remind Naruto that we have training today?"

"Right now I'd say either I should go, or you should go as Sen. No offense to you Ayato, but Naruto is a little more at ease with the two of us than you," Rize replied.

"Kinda figured," Ayato said with a shrug. "After all, you've talked with him at the noble's house while Eto as Sen is basically the closest thing to a sister he has."

Rize nodded and idly began drumming her fingers on the hilt of her katana. Pausing the motions of her fingers, she focused on Eto.

"Would you like to be the one to go get Naruto? Since despite my trying to connect with him in recent days, you already have an established relationship with him."

Eto finished the sentence she was writing and closed her notebook. Looking back up at her squad captain, she smiled and nodded.

"I'll take care of it."

"Good." Rize glanced at a clock on the wall before turning back to Eto. "You might want to go ahead and get him then, since it's almost time for training."

Eto turned towards the door, just as Rize spoke up once more.

"Also, try not to be late again. We don't need another Kakashi, alright Eto?"

Eto nodded once more, a sheepish grin on her face, and strode over to the door. Once she had passed through the doorway and shut the door, she closed her eyes and composed herself. Smoothing out her green hair, Eto formed a soft smile on her face and walked into the streets as Sen Takatsuki.

Sen walked down the streets of Konoha, giving a polite nod to those who greeted her, yet on the inside she had much different thoughts about the populace passing her by.

" _Like mindless sheep,"_ her thoughts screamed. _"So inferior, so mind-numbingly weak! Oh what I'd give to cut loose and start tearing you apart right here and now!"_

As she continued in the direction of Naruto's apartment, she began giggling quietly to herself.

" _Gouging out eyeballs, rending flesh, tearing off their skin and forcing them to eat it! Rip off their limbs and beat them to death with it, split their bones to suck out the marrow, lock them in a basement and slowly cut them to pieces!"_ Sen giggled a little more at the thought. _"Maybe I'll take a leaf from the rogue Sannin's book and take them apart, one part at a time, all the while keeping them alive so they can watch me devour them piece by piece!"_

Sen idly licked her lips as images of delicious meals rose from the depths of her subconscious.

" _Maybe I'll start with a limb, leg maybe? Have them eat part of themselves as their last meal? Decisions, decisions. Perhaps I could even get Naruto to prepare something marvelous from their remains..."_

Sen eventually found herself close to Naruto's apartment building, noting the fact that the civilians passing by the building tried their best to not even so much as look in its direction. Upon seeing this, the green-haired girl scoffed to herself.

" _And once more fear rules their entire thought process,"_ she thought. _"It's not like Naruto's going to jump out and murder you if you stare at his house too long."_ Sen paused and thought about it for a moment. _"On second thought, those fears might have some ground to them."_

Shaking her head in amusement, Sen strode into the building and opened her inhuman senses, searching for Naruto's scent. It didn't take long for her to locate it, and she found herself standing in front of his door. Raising a fist, Sen rapped on the door for a few seconds.

She was not expecting to hear a pair of muffled curses, followed by the scraping of a chair on the floor, immediately accompanied by the sound of bare feet padding towards the door. A moment later, the lock on the door clicked and swung open to reveal Naruto.

Sen was a bit shocked at Naruto's current bedraggled appearance, not expecting to have her "proper" teammate come to the door in pajama bottoms and a thin white shirt, a pale purple robe lying over his shoulders. Naruto scratched the back of his head, idly brushing back his unbrushed hair before blinking tiredly at Sen, drawing her attention to the bags beginning to form under his eyes.

"Sen," Naruto remarked, stifling a yawn. "Had I known you were coming I would have made myself more… presentable."

"Long night Naruto?"

"You could say that," Naruto replied, rubbing one of his eyes. "Please, come in. If you want a cup of tea, I still have some water in the kettle."

Sen nodded gratefully and stepped into the apartment, casually gazing around before noticing the kitchen area. She looked over to the sink and eyed the recently cleaned knives and cutlery laying on a drying mat.

"Is there any specific kind of tea that you want?" Naruto called out from the pantry. "If not then there are a few imported teas that I believe you might like."

"If you have any green tea then that would be fine."

"I should have some of that somewhere," Naruto mused, rustling through the pantry in his search.

Sen watched Naruto carefully as he removed a box of tea from the pantry and moved over to the still-hot kettle, taking note of his uncharacteristically lethargic movements.

"You sure you're alright Naruto?" she asked. "You don't look so good."

"We've already been over this Sen," Naruto replied with a yawn. "I've just had a long night, and as a result I didn't get as much sleep as I should have. I'll be fine tomorrow."

"Well we do have training today, so shouldn't that be a bit concerning?"

"I suppose so," Naruto mused quietly as he poured the water into the cup. "But I'm not too worried. If I need to do so, I'll take a break during training if my sleep deprivation starts causing unwanted side effects."

He opened the box and removed one of the teabags within, placing it in the cup of hot water and leaving it to sit for a moment. Naruto paused in his movements, letting a small yawn escape him before bringing the cup over to the table. Sen nodded in gratitude as Naruto sat down and lifted his own cup of tea to his lips. Taking a long sip, he swallowed and shook his head, his dulled reactions already beginning to refocus themselves. Glancing back at Sen he gestured with the mug towards the small sugar bowl on the table.

"Sugar is in there if you want it," he remarked.

Sen acknowledged his statement before lifting the cup to her lips and taking a sip. Naruto himself took another draught from his own mug, blinking momentarily as his eyes began to focus once again.

"That's better," he murmured softly, taking another sip from his tea. He turned his gaze to Sen, his eyes narrowing a fraction. "I suppose I would be correct in assuming that you did not come here simply to remind me of training or to get a free cup of tea?"

"You would be correct indeed," Sen replied with a smile. "I have another message from Rize to deliver."

"Splendid," Naruto remarked, swirling the contents of his mug before taking another sip. "And what would this message be?"

"She wants to invite you over to her home later tonight for dinner, if you don't have anything planned that is."

"I believe that my schedule is clear tonight, but I should probably check that this is true before I accept this invitation."

"Fair enough," Sen replied, placing her cup back down on the table. "If you want, I can tell Rize what you told me, and you can give your answer at training later today."

"That will work for me," Naruto said. "As I clearly will need to get a shower and a clean set of clothing on before going to training, so I will check that tonight is open before I leave."

"Perfect!" Sen remarked with a grin, picking her cup back up and finishing off the last of her tea. "In that case, I should probably get going then. I'll see you at training!"

"Indeed," Naruto replied, draining the remainder of his cup as Sen got up to head over to the door. "I'll be at the training ground in half an hour, maybe a little longer."

Sen nodded before opening the door and exiting the apartment. Naruto stood up and stretched as he began to move towards the bathroom, idly shedding the purple robe he wore to hang it on a hook on the wall.

* * *

Rize reached back and carefully tied her hair into a ponytail before glancing down at the recipe book in front of her, her free hand moving up to adjust the glasses perched on her nose. She flipped through a couple of pages before stopping on the one she sought. Dark purple eyes scanned the written letters for a moment, before she strode over to the fridge and pulled open the door. Pulling out various drawers and removing the items she was looking for, Rize closed the fridge and returned to the counter.

She turned to the stove and lifted the lid off of the pot simmering on the burner and cautiously stirred the soup within. Replacing the cover on the pot, she knelt down to the oven and peered at the casserole dish sitting on the rack. Rize stood back up and glanced at the timer sitting on the stovetop.

Rize placed a pot of water on the stove and lit the burner, sprinkling a healthy amount of salt in the water as she did. As the water began to heat, she moved towards the counter and unwrapped the package of meat.

She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of the raw beef, a small smile on her face. It may not have been her usual palette of meat, but it would suffice well enough for tonight's meal.

" _Especially with how on edge everyone is after Naruto's latest victim,"_ she idly thought. _"It's been getting harder to get the same level of meat as we're used to getting."_

Shaking her head at the thought, Rize turned back to the pot of now boiling water. Taking the green beans she had prepared earlier that day, she carefully placed them in the pot and backed away. While the beans began to blanch, she removed both steaks from the packaging and began to grind fresh salt and pepper over both sides. Once she finished seasoning the meat, Rize returned to the green beans and stabbed one with a fork.

Satisfied with the texture and color of the beans, Rize removed the pot from the stove and drained the beans before placing them in a bowl of ice water. Turning away from the soaking beans, she placed a skillet on the burner and began to heat it up with butter and olive oil. As the pan began to heat up, she proceeded to mince two cloves of garlic before placing them in the pan alongside some flakes of dried red pepper. Rize sauteed the mixture for a good thirty seconds, adding the beans to the pan shortly after.

After the beans were thoroughly coated in the mix and heated through, she reduced the heat and began to add salt, pepper, and lemon zest. She stirred for a few seconds longer before reducing the heat even further and covering the pan.

Right as she placed another skillet on a burner and was reaching for the steaks, there was a knock at the door.

Rize turned towards the door and walked over to it, casually taking her sheathed katana in hand as she passed by where it was leaning on the couch. She stepped up to the door, her free hand grasping the hilt of her blade, and peered through the hole in the door.

Upon seeing it was Naruto, (and confirming that it wasn't merely someone under a Henge due to his unmistakable chakra signature) she relaxed and set the katana aside before opening the door.

"Glad you could make it Naruto," she remarked with a smile.

"I did accept your invitation to dinner didn't I?" Naruto replied with a smirk. "It would have been quite rude of me to not arrive after already specifying that I was coming."

"Indeed. Please, come in. I'm just finishing up in the kitchen."

Naruto stepped into the entryway and closed the door as Rize strode off to return to the kitchen. He scanned his surroundings with a hint of interest as he removed his coat and hung it on the coatrack to his left. Pausing for a moment to straighten his vest and brush back a few stray hairs, Naruto followed after Rize in the direction of the recognizable smell of cooking meat.

Rize was standing before the stove, flipping over a pair of steaks in a skillet while pushing her glasses back up her nose. Naruto moved to stand at her right, noting the two bottles sitting on the counter.

"Balsamic vinegar and red wine," he mused. "And the steaks?"

"Filet mignon," Rize replied. "Unfortunately it is not of our usual kind of meat, but I hope beef will suffice for tonight."

"Perfectly fine," Naruto said. "It's nice to liven up the menu every now and again. It would get rather boring to eat only a single type of food at every meal, and while I will always prefer the special meat, using others such as pork or beef is reasonable."

Naruto crossed to Rize's other side (as she opened the bottles and began to add some vinegar and wine to the skillet) and lifted the cover of the pot, his eyebrow quirking a second later.

"Are there any other steps left with this dish?"

"Actually yes." Rize gestured to the pantry for a moment before returning to her steaks. "Can you get the cornstarch and mix it with some water before adding it to the soup. Then bring it to a boil until it's thickened a bit."

Nodding, he followed her instructions until the soup thickened before turning back to her.

"Next step?"

"Should be the last one, just mix the lobster meat in the fridge into the soup and stir."

Naruto turned to the fridge and removed said lobster meat and began stirring it into the soup. As he put the finishing touches on the soup, Rize pulled two plates from the cabinet and set them on the counter before opening the oven and removing the casserole dish within it. She placed it on the counter atop a potholder, then she took a spatula and placed equal portions of the potatoes on the plates.

Rize then turned off the burner and plated the green beans, followed by the steaks. Taking a spoon in hand, she spooned some of the glaze from the pan onto the steaks before taking both plates and placing them on the table. Glancing back at Naruto, she called out an answer to his unspoken question.

"Bowls are in the cabinet to your right."

Taking down two bowls, Naruto took a ladle in hand and filled the bowls before garnishing with some leftover lobster meat in the center of the soup. Nodding in satisfaction, he carefully picked up a bowl in each hand and brought them over to the table.

Rize untied her apron and hung it on the oven door handle before sitting down across from Naruto at the table and offering a smile.

"For the appetizer, lobster bisque. And for the entree, filet mignon with a rich balsamic glaze, served with au gratin and green beans with lemon and garlic," Rize remarked proudly. "Enjoy."

"It looks incredible," Naruto replied. "Color me impressed."

"I try," Rize said with a wink as she began to cut into her steak.

As Rize started to eat her steak, Naruto picked up his spoon and dipped it into the bisque. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the lobster in the soup before placing the spoon in his mouth.

The two sat and ate in silence, enjoying the meal they had prepared. Rize paused for a moment to set her silverware down and stand back up.

"Can't believe I forgot drinks," she said sheepishly.

She quickly turned and walked back into the kitchen area and opened the fridge. Peering at the contents, she glanced back at Naruto.

"What would you prefer?"

Naruto swallowed the piece of steak that he was chewing before dabbing at his mouth with a napkin.

"Perhaps a glass of Merlot or Pinot Noir if you have any."

Rize froze, standing back up and turning to face her student.

"You want a glass of wine?" she asked, a tinge of disbelief in her voice.

"If you have any," Naruto replied. "If you don't, then I will simply make do without."

"It's the fact that you asked for alcohol that concerns me Naruto."

"Though I may not have my headband on my person at this time, I am considered a legal adult in the village now that I am a shinobi."

"Legal age has nothing to do with it," Rize replied. "Physically, you're still underage."

"Your point being?"

"Underage drinking can cause multiple problems Naruto, such as addiction or mental degradation. I'm pretty sure you took the Health class like everyone else at the Academy did."

"Yes, those are legitimate reasons. However, I would hardly say I have an alcohol addiction," Naruto retorted, the furrow of his brow and the frown on his face betraying his annoyance. "I merely like to enjoy a glass of wine every now and again when it pairs well with the meal, or if I just happen to be in the mood."

Rize frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You better not be saying this because the Fox can heal you."

"Not that the beast ever would," Naruto replied. "The sooner I die, the sooner the seal breaks and it regains its freedom while being stronger than ever. Any sort of healing I would get from my Uzumaki heritage is also thinned somewhat due to my 'father's' blood mingling with that of my mother's, so I am not using that as an excuse either."

Naruto waved a hand dismissively.

"If you still do not wish for me to have a glass of wine in your home, then I will abide by that desire for the sake of being courteous to my gracious host."

"In that case, what would you like to drink that isn't wine then?"

"A glass of water will suffice," Naruto remarked.

After pouring two glasses of water, Rize returned to the table and placed one of the glasses beside Naruto's plate. Quietly expressing his gratitude, Naruto took a sip of water before placing the glass back down. Rize picked up her silverware and resumed her task of cutting her steak.

"So Naruto, how has your life been?"

Naruto froze, forkful of potatoes suspended between the plate and his mouth. Setting the fork down, he took another drink of water before looking across the table to his sensei.

"Any particular reason for asking?"

"We're teammates Naruto," Rize replied. "Well, sensei and student, but regardless, a team should be able to trust one another. Hopefully by understanding each other, we'll work better together."

Naruto pondered for a moment, idly chewing the forkful of potatoes before swallowing.

"I suppose you are correct," he admitted. "So what exactly do you wish to know?"

"Well, you already know some of my background, so why don't you tell me about yours?"

"Very well," Naruto replied, setting his silverware down. "In terms of my early years, they were… not entirely pleasant, as you can imagine for one of my unique status."

"Being a jinchuuriki," Rize remarked.

"Correct. If it hadn't been for Shuu making contact with me, I might have turned out much different than who I am today. I'd probably still be a naive child with delusions of grandeur, believing that he could make everyone respect him by becoming the village leader."

"Right," Rize murmured. "You once had the goal of becoming Hokage, when you were younger."

"As I said, delusions of grandeur. Respect unfortunately must be freely earned, not simply given due to a position of power. And respect is one thing the majority of Konoha's citizens will refuse to give one such as me."

Naruto chuckled, a somewhat cracked and bitter sound, as he chewed a piece of filet.

"For all I know, the village elders might have made some obscure law that prevents jinchuuriki from becoming Hokage. In turn, it makes that old dream just that: a dream. Nothing more, nothing less."

Rize frowned slightly, swallowing the green beans in her mouth before pushing her glasses back up her nose.

"In that case, what do you plan to do then if you aren't going to strive to become Hokage? What is your goal in life Naruto?"

"I could ask you the same," he replied. "Though in all honesty, I suppose there isn't much more to accomplish for a former member of ANBU."

The purple-haired woman sputtered, almost spitting out her drink before coughing for a good thirty seconds. Picking up her napkin, she wiped her mouth and gazed warily at Naruto.

"Why would you believe that?"

"The overwhelming amount of evidence is rather damning in that regard," Naruto remarked, taking a sip of his water. "To start off, I am the host of the Kyuubi. It would have made the most sense to place me on Hatake's team, as he is both a former ANBU and wields the Sharingan, allowing them to keep me on a tighter 'leash' so to speak. Unfortunately he already was assigned to train Sasuke, due to their shared kekkai genkai, so he was unavailable. That leaves the one who actually became my sensei, so that's the start."

"Rather circumstantial isn't it?"

"Perhaps, but coupled with the fact that your skill with kenjutsu is far beyond that of any Jonin sensei I've seen around the village, even of those who specialize in the art, Hayate Gekko being a prime example despite that dreadful cough of his. But your skills put you in a league of your own, almost unmatched, as evidenced on that day when our team was having kenjutsu spars. Not to mention, you also adopt a cold and ruthless mentality when in battle, only showing emotion when something manages to draw your ire, a common trait of members of the village Black Ops."

"That may be true, but who's to say I'm not just a ridiculously specialized Jonin?"

"And I might agree, if I hadn't already had it confirmed."

Rize's eyes narrowed behind her glasses as she placed the napkin in her hand back on the table.

"Confirmed by who?"

"I have my sources."

"Would I be correct in guessing that Shuu Tsukiyama is one of those sources?"

"I'm afraid I am not at liberty to say," Naruto replied, a small smile gracing his features. "Client confidentiality and all."

Rize gazed thoughtfully at Naruto for a moment before leaning back in her chair.

"Yes, I was in ANBU, but similar to Kakashi I left in order to become a Jonin sensei. My team was relatively unknown until the death of one of our members, resulting in the Hokage placing you on the team. You know the rest from there."

"Logically, the Hokage's decision was sound," Naruto remarked. "As a former ANBU, you would have the skill necessary to either subdue or at least detain me until backup arrived in the event the seal on my navel began to loosen, resulting in the Fox making an appearance."

Rize nodded, prompting a satisfied smirk from Naruto. Leaning forward, Rize picked up her fork and speared some potatoes.

"On that note, I should go ahead and warn you in advance about this."

"What is it?"

She swallowed the potatoes and looked carefully at her student.

"Iruka Umino recommended to the Hokage that you be dropped from the shinobi program after the incidents at the graduation exams," she stated.

"Clearly that suggestion was ignored," Naruto replied with a deep frown. "As I am a full-fledged shinobi of the Leaf, despite being at the Genin rank."

"His other recommendation was that if you did become a shinobi, you would need to start regularly seeing a psychiatrist."

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction before he speared his steak with a little more force than he should.

"Don't tell me you agree with that buffoon. Iruka's a Chunin and wasn't even able to realize the fact that his "friend" was a spy and was planning on stealing the Scroll of Seals, much less realize that I am in need of psychiatric aid."

"If it was anyone else he was recommending for a psychiatrist, I wouldn't believe him with that track record," Rize replied. "But since this is you he's talking about, I agree with him."

"You cannot be serious."

"I am. Face it Naruto, even if the villagers didn't know you were a jinchuuriki, they'd still immediately suspect you of being a serial killer on the subject of your attitude and actions alone. Even if that wasn't the case, you are showing signs of being either a psychopath or a sociopath, and that will get you pulled from the program if you aren't regularly seeing someone to help you with that."

Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Look Naruto, I get that you see yourself as mentally sound, but the rest of the village thinks you'd snap any day now. Whether or not I agree with Iruka's suggestion is irrelevant, by law the Hokage has to send you to a psychiatrist if it is believed that you could be developing any mental instability."

"What of Sasuke then?" Naruto growled. "He does tend to occasionally get murderous urges when Itachi is brought up. The boy witnessed his entire clan's execution, you don't think that won't mentally traumatize him?"

"We anticipated that, and that's why he's been seeing a psychiatrist himself since that day," Rize replied. "He doesn't need to go in and see him that often, but Sasuke still has monthly visits to make sure he's still as stable as possible."

Naruto raised an eyebrow before thinking carefully.

"I take it that an appointment in my name has already been scheduled?"

"Yes. It would have been scheduled earlier, but the Hokage was only just now able to get everything sorted."

Naruto said nothing, merely cutting another piece of his dwindling steak and placing it in his mouth. Rize sighed and brushed her bangs behind her ear.

"I know you aren't pleased with the situation Naruto," she remarked. "But my hands are tied here. You know the regulations."

"Very well then," Naruto replied. "Tell the Hokage to send me the time and place, and I will be there. But I will not consent to having any mind-walkers trailing through my memories however."

"There's no need to worry about that Naruto. The Yamanaka clan wouldn't want to even think of trying, on account of your burden possibly being roused as a result." She paused to take a draught from her glass before continuing. "But enough about that. Let's discuss something more pleasant than a visit to a psychiatrist."

"It depends on what you call _pleasant_ ," Naruto remarked, idly spearing a potato on his fork. "After all, _pleasant_ is all a matter of perspective, as is _unpleasant_."

Rize rolled her eyes at Naruto's comment, chuckling softly to herself.

* * *

"So you understand your mission?" Hiruzen remarked.

"To be fair Hokage _-sama_ ," Rize replied. "It is a fairly long journey from here to Wave on foot at civilian-level speed, and the client himself requested protection against common bandits. Why is a team of our caliber being sent out? Surely another team of Genin would be sufficient enough?"

"That is correct," the old man admitted. "And I wouldn't be worried about sending another team, if I hadn't received a report from Jiraiya recently involving a strange influx of professional mercenaries near Wave, as well as reports of increased poverty rates in the country. There are also rather disturbing accounts of a small group of men being seen burning piles of bodies, with various reports of arson and murder also being received. Thus, I am concerned that there may be foul play involved."

"Where are you going with this sir?"

"As there is a good chance that the client may be lying about the mission ranking, the four of you will accompany the bridge-builder Tazuna to his homeland in Wave and oversee his protection until the completion of his bridge. Payment will be handled after completion of the mission."

"Yes sir," Rize replied. "I'll gather them and have them by the gates in a little over an hour."

"See to it that you do Rize," Hiruzen remarked.

The purple-haired ANBU bowed and swiftly left the room, leaving Hiruzen to his thoughts once more. The old man removed his pipe from his mouth, staring at it carefully before overturning its contents into an ashtray and setting the pipe aside.

Hiruzen couldn't deny that Team 13 (now being renamed amongst the shinobi forces as "Team Rize") was one of the best teams they had, despite their status as undercover Black Ops agents, rivalled only by Team Kakashi. The fact that a team of true genin could rival that of an undercover ANBU in efficiency was rather surprising, especially considering one of their teammate's particular mindset.

Hiruzen shook his head at the though. Maybe if he sent Team Kakashi on a C-rank extermination mission, perhaps it would give Sakura the wakeup call she needed. Provided he ever got bored of repeatedly sending them after the cat belonging to the Fire Daimyo's wife.

Still, Hiruzen couldn't help but think about Naruto. The young jinchuuriki had proven to be as brutal as always when sent on missions to eliminate nukenin, with a particular knack for creative poisons and concoctions that left the old man's head spinning just thinking of what he might come up with next. Hiruzen had had a few medic-nins examine the corpse of Suté after Team Rize reported their successful mission, and their reactions had been a mixture of astonishment and deep intrigue after seeing the effects of the toxin used.

The effects of Naruto's other concoction became agonizingly clear once Ibiki woke up Suté's accomplice, only for the man to immediately begin babbling all of the information that he knew in a terrified stupor (regardless whether the information was even useful or not). They couldn't even figure out what had driven the man into such panic, so Hiruzen commissioned a member of the Yamanaka clan to go into his mind to validate the information they were given. Said Yamanaka clan member still required extensive therapy after seeing just what horrors lay beneath the poor man's mind.

Hiruzen sighed, still barely able to match up the image of the bitter, violent young man with the bright, happy child from years ago. He closed his eyes as a vibrant memory played through his head.

" _You better watch out Gramps, cause one day I'm gonna take that hat from you!"_

"One day you would have Naruto," Hiruzen murmured softly. "And I would have been happy to relinquish it…"

* * *

"We have a new assignment then?"

"According to Rize _-sensei_ we do," Sen replied from where she sat at Naruto's table, the blond having just taken her empty plate to the sink to rinse it off. "The Sandaime is suspicious about a C-rank that was requested of our village, so we're taking it just to be safe."

"Why send our team though?" Naruto asked, drying off his hands on a dish towel. "I know we are the best team the village has to offer, but wouldn't you say sending us on a C-rank is a little bit much?"

"Not according to the Sandaime it's not."

Naruto strode over to his closet and began extracting the various pieces of equipment that he deemed necessary for the mission. He unrolled a few scrolls and proceeded to seal the items away, from his ingredients and apparatus related to his poisons to his two swords and syringed gauntlet. He paused as he removed a trio of liquid-filled vials, idly glancing over the labels fixed to the sides before sealing them away in the scroll.

Naruto went to close his closet door, only to pause upon taking note of the final weapon stashed there. He extracted the two separated pieces, looking over them thoughtfully before making up his mind and sealing them into their own scroll. Satisfied, Naruto rolled up the scrolls and stowed them in a bag.

After packing food for the journey the scroll via fuinjutsu, Naruto placed the scroll in the bag, adjusting the gauntlet on his arm and testing the mechanism, the blade extending and retracting back into the gauntlet several times before he was satisfied. He shouldered the bag and looked expectantly at Sen.

"As I am now packed and prepared for the mission, I will meet you, the rest of the team, and the client at the village gates."

Sen nodded and bade Naruto a quick farewell before leaving the apartment. Naruto followed down the stairs and out of the building, heading in the opposite direction as Sen, finding himself at the gates a few minutes later. He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement to the two Chunin guarding the gates when they called out a short greeting, standing on the side of the street waiting for his teammates.

He didn't have to wait long for the three of them to arrive, each sporting knapsacks of their own with scrolls filled with supplies stored inside of them. Naruto eyed them as they approached, adjusting the shoulder of his bag.

"All packed and prepared?" he remarked.

"Yeah," Ayato replied. "Those scrolls of yours were pretty useful in getting everything packed quickly."

A belch was heard from behind Ayato, causing his eye to twitch as he glanced back at the mission's client.

Naruto looked the client up and down for a moment, his nose wrinkling in disgust as the old man took a long swig from his bottle of sake. The old man scratched his head, his slightly unfocused eyes zeroing in on Naruto from behind his glasses.

"This is the teammate you were talking about?" he drawled, causing Naruto's nose to wrinkle further as the smell of the alcohol on his breath. "Looks like one of them cushy types that don't even know how to lift a piece of lumber. I mean look at him! He just looks weak to me!"

Sen and Ayato froze, their eyes immediately darting to look at Naruto. Naruto's expression hadn't outwardly changed all that much, but his hand was noticeably reaching towards his kunai pouch. Just as his fingers opened the pouch and reached for a blade, Rize walked around and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. He focused on his sensei, scowling as she shook her head.

Exhaling deeply, Naruto released the hilt of the kunai and closed the pouch. Rize nodded at him before turning to the other two members of the team (and the drunken bridge builder).

"Now that we're all here, let's move out team," Rize said, slipping into the tone of voice that denoted her status as the leader of the team.

Ayato and Sen nodded, Naruto giving a short incline of the head, before stepping towards the gates with Tazuna trailing behind. As the just managed to set foot outside of the village, they were beset by the strange sight of a young blonde woman arguing with a white haired man with a horned headband.

"I'm telling you, this could get other women to start reading the series!

"No! Absolutely not! I'm not befouling my glorious book series with yaoi!"

"But it would help get your series out to new readers! Think about it!"

"No means no! I'm not doing it!"

The woman was so enthralled in her argument, she neglected to pay attention to that which was right in her path, thus she ended up bumping into Naruto. Much to Naruto's shock, the accidental blow was enough to send him sprawling to the ground. Blinking suddenly, she grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.

"Whoops. Sorry, didn't see you there!"

Naruto stood to his feet, brushing dirt off of his sleeves with an irritated scowl marring his features.

"That much is obvious," he growled.

Inwardly however, Naruto's demeanor differed from his outward expression, calculating what he just experienced and matching it with the woman before him.

" _Just how strong is she that a glancing blow is able to send me to the ground?"_

"Hey, I said I was sorry! Cut me a little slack!"

Naruto scoffed, slapping away the last vestiges of dirt from his clothing.

"A 'little slack'?" Naruto mused. "Why should I grant anyone 'slack'? If you are too much of a simpleton to watch where you are going, then why should I be lenient? If anything I should be scolding you."

The white-haired man eyed Naruto carefully, his eyes lighting up in familiar recognition of who Naruto was. The blonde woman on the other hand, frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Look, I bumped into you," she replied. "I get that, and I apologized. No need to be a prick about it!"

"A 'prick' you say?" Naruto sneered, flexing his fingers as his hand drifted downward in the direction of the pouch on his belt. "So I am now the one to be insulted for no true fault of my own? How presumptuous of you."

The blonde's eyes narrowed, having spotted the movement of Naruto's hand out of the corner of her eye, as she shifted slightly. Rize looked thoughtfully at the girl, her eyes narrowing in silent recognition.

"Are you calling me arrogant?" the blonde growled in a low voice.

"I never said that, but in this case I suppose that yes, I am calling you such."

"Look pal, I wouldn't be trying to pick a fight you know you can't win," she replied.

"And you continue to prove my statement," Naruto remarked dryly.

"Well you weren't trained by a Sannin, now were you?" the woman said with a smirk.

"And why would I wish to be trained by a shinobi so useless that they received their title merely for _surviving_ a confrontation with Hanzo the Salamander?" Naruto sneered. "The fact that you seem to be so proud of the fact you were trained by such a weakling simply validates your arrogance even further."

The blonde grit her teeth as Jiraiya watched the situation somewhat uncomfortably. While he would have been more than happy to prove to the brat that he was no weakling, and that he had indeed earned the title given to him, it wouldn't do to lose his temper in this situation. Unlike his apprentice.

"Take that back. Now," she ground out through clenched teeth, the hand at her side forming into a fist so tight that there was an audible _-crack-_ from her knuckles.

Naruto grinned, not a grin wide enough to expose his gums, but a wide grin nonetheless.

"The truth hurts, does it not?"

Pain immediately blossomed in Naruto's cheek, the blonde's fist crashing into his face with enough force to send him back a few inches and knock him to the ground in the process. Naruto steadied himself and gazed at the girl's livid expression. Much to his surprise, her enraged features quickly faded into shock as the girl glanced down her arm towards her fist for a moment before looking down at Naruto.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I really shouldn't have done that."

Not taking his eyes off of her, Naruto reached into his pocket and removed a handkerchief and wiped the trail of blood leaking from the side of his mouth. Refolding the cloth, Naruto replaced it in his pocket and tilted his head up at the girl.

"So quick to anger and incapable of self-restraint," Naruto chided. "The signs of your incivility could not have been made more clear you savage."

For a moment the blonde woman looked ready to punch Naruto again, but instead she simply schooled herself and calmed back down.

"Look buddy, we clearly got off on the wrong foot here," she calmly remarked. "Why don't we just put this behind us and start over, alright?"

With those words said, she leaned down to Naruto and extended a hand to help him to his feet. Naruto eyed the outstretched limb warily, almost curious as to what was currently hovering in front of him. Closing his eyes, Naruto pushed her arm aside with the back of his hand and rose to his feet, idly brushing dirt off of the back of his robes as he did.

The blonde sighed exasperatedly, but said nothing as she retracted her outstretched arm. Jiraiya gave a small nod of approval to the girl as Naruto turned to face Rize.

"We still have a mission to complete, do we not?"

Rize nodded, idly relaxing her arm to let her hand fall from its subconscious place at the hilt of her katana. She then glanced back at the other two members of her team.

"He is right you know," she stated. "Let's move out!"

Ayato and Sen nodded and quickly fell in place alongside Rize and Naruto, Tazuna trodding along behind them, his bottle raised to his lips in mid-swig. Jiraiya eyed the group as they continued down the road for a moment longer before turning to his apprentice.

"Speaking of, we still need to report to the old man, so we should probably get moving."

The blonde woman nodded and adjusted the straps on her bag before walking off towards the gates. Jiraiya glanced back down the road to observe Naruto's retreating form for one last instant before he to followed his apprentice towards the gates.

Jiraiya definitely knew that he had some questions for his old sensei about just what exactly happened to turn his godson into something that eerily reminded him of his old teammate.

* * *

Drunk as he was, Tazuna could at least tell that he had gotten his money's worth with this team. Especially compared to some of the other shinobi teams he had casually observed while in Konoha.

This team did not yell, scream, or fight amongst themselves. They stood in a diamond formation around him, each one of them silently scanning the landscape for threats, relaxed yet ready for anything. The blond one with the ponytail and the noble's clothing (whose name had slipped Tazuna's mind at the moment, other than the vague memory of it being related to noodles) stood in front of him, pale blue eyes darting from side to side as he idly turned a kunai over and over in his palm while his free hand laid on his sword, fingers drumming along the hilt. He said nothing, eyes still searching as his nostrils kept flaring at frequent yet precise intervals.

On either side of him, Tazuna glanced between the green-haired young woman and the young man with the dark blue hair. The girl was relaxed, with a notebook in one hand and a pencil in the other, jotting down something as she walked. She seemed harmless, but Tazuna recognized the look of anticipation in her eyes, as well as the sound of metal links softly rattling from somewhere on her person. The young man wasn't even bothering to hide his glee, a malicious grin on his face as he looked for potential threats, one hand never leaving the twin katanas strapped to his belt.

Their sensei (if one could even call her that, as she seemed more like a drill sergeant than a teacher to Tazuna) walked behind him, sheathed katana clasped in her hand with the _sageo_ trailing slightly in the wind. Tazuna couldn't read anything from this woman, though his drunkenness might have attributed to that, and it unnerved him somewhat.

The five continued along the chosen path towards the Land of the Waves, the soles of their sandals occasionally splashing through the small puddles littering the ground. Ayato groaned as he stepped in yet another puddle, the water splashing across the exposed portion of his feet once again.

"This is getting ridiculous!" he complained. "Isn't there a path that's at least a bit dryer for us to go on?"

"You say that as if we can control the weather Ayato," Naruto replied. "Shouldn't a shinobi be able to adapt to any situation? Even one so simply and unimportant as wet feet?"

"Says the guy wearing boots instead of sandals!"

"Knock it off you two," Sen remarked calmly, closing her notebook and sliding the pencil into the coil binding it together. "I thought we were trying to travel with some form of professionalism? And by professionalism I mean not acting like the two loudest members of Team Kakashi."

The two fell silent, swiftly returning to their vigil. Tazuna glanced between them before letting out a soft sigh of relief. He really was glad he got this team instead of the one originally proposed by the Hokage.

" _Seriously, what kind of a ninja has bright pink hair?"_ Tazuna thought to himself.

Naruto spun the kunai in his palm one last time before stowing the blade in his pouch, the fingers on his left hand still drumming on the hilt of his sword. A brief thought crossed his mind about setting loose the Walrider to scout ahead, before he decided against it. Naruto inhaled deeply, breathing in the scents of the area around him as best he could while reflexively tuning out the smell of alcohol surrounding Tazuna.

A sudden scent appeared in his senses, nearly causing him to pause in his stride before he caught himself. His eyes narrowing, Naruto inhaled once more, his senses reaching out to pick out that specific smell once again.

It was rather noticeable, sharp on his senses and reeking of salt. Naruto glanced around, hoping to home in on the source of the scent, before glancing at the ground a few yards ahead.

Lying on either side of the road were two innocent-looking puddles, if only slightly bigger than the ones around them. Naruto might have overlooked them, if it weren't for the smell of seawater. And given how far into the mainland that they were at the moment…

Naruto lifted his hand from his sword and gave a soft snap of his fingers. The three shinobi behind him shifted slightly and glanced at Naruto. The blond tilted his head slightly and ran a finger under his nose, his eyes flicking towards Ayato's sandals as they splashed into another puddle. Ayato glanced down at his feet, Sen and Rize casually following his gaze before returning to look at Naruto, who by that time had placed two fingers on the pommel of his sword.

The trio nodded slightly as they prepared for the inevitable, Tazuna still unaware of what was to come.

Right as the quintet walked up to the pair of puddles, Naruto unsheathed his sword and began channeling lightning around the blade before stabbing it into a smaller puddle nearby. Sen and Ayato each grabbed Tazuna by the arms and leapt back after Rize as electricity arced from puddle to puddle before lashing out at the larger two of them all.

The pools of water darkened and morphed, as a pair of shinobi wearing horned forehead protectors, gas masks, and a clawed gauntlet on opposite hands burst from the ground, yelling in pain as lightning sparked over their wet forms.

Ripping his sword free from the ground, Naruto ducked down as Sen leapt over his crouched form, chains uncoiling from her sleeves.

One of the two attackers grit his teeth and lashed out with the claw on his arm to catch the chain whipping through the air towards his companion. He then proceeded to use his foot to shove the other man away as Ayato launched a wave of fire from the blade of his sword, at the cost of finding himself entangled in Sen's other chain. He struggled against his bonds before turning his head.

"Gozu!"

The currently free assailant nodded and ducked under a slash from Naruto's lightning-enhanced sword, removing his dark cloak and flinging it at the blond. The wet fabric slapped against Naruto's face, sparking a short sound of outrage before he ripped the cloak off and proceeded to incinerate the offending article of clothing with the electricity cloaking his blade. Naruto looked up to glare at Gozu, his now damp hair falling to cover his enraged face, but Gozu had already made his next move.

"Suiton: Teppōdamma! (Water Release: Gunshot)"

Swiftly yanking down his mask, Gozu expelled a large bullet-shaped mass of water from his mouth. Sneering, Naruto channelled more lightning through his sword before flipping the weapon into a reversed grip and slashing upward, splitting the technique in half.

Upon seeing the failure of his technique, Gozu thrust his gauntlet forward, firing a chain of shuriken from the weapon at Naruto. Naruto sidestepped the chain before pinning it to the ground by stabbing his sword through one of the holes in the center of one of the shuriken, advancing towards his chosen target. Gozu frantically fumbled with the release mechanism, only to falter as Naruto's knee impacted with his nose.

As the missing-nin fell to the ground with a yell of agony (faint accusations involving a broken nose being among the screams), Naruto slammed his foot against Gozu's chest before shaking his sleeve free of his arm, revealing bronze gauntlet with attached syringes glinting menacingly in the afternoon sunlight. The blond gave a gum-baring grin as he clenched his fist, depressing the plungers and filling the syringes before raising the gauntlet high.

"Enough Naruto."

Naruto paused right as he was about to bring the needles down, glancing back at Rize. Rize walked over towards the pair, leaving Sen and Ayato to tighten the bonds on the other assassin.

"We still need to interrogate them before you break their minds."

Naruto frowned, but nodded nonetheless, the syringes retracting into their "sheathed" mode as he lifted himself off of Gozu. Gozu coughed as Naruto's weight was removed from his chest, before he turned to glance at his companion.

"Meizu…" he groaned.

The now-named Meizu twitched for a moment, his beady eyes darting between his two captors before lunging forward. Much to the surprise of the members of Team Rize and a much more sober bridge builder, the Kiri nukenin passed through Sen's chains as if they weren't even there, before slamming his shoulder into Naruto.

Grabbing Gozu and helping him to his feet, Meizu held up a single handsign as the four shinobi unsheathed their various weapons and charged at the pair.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu, (Hidden Mist Technique)" he intoned calmly.

Immediately a thick white fog phased into existence, shrouding the area around them as the two nukenin quickly vanished in the cloud. Sniffing the air, Naruto frowned and formed a handsign of his own.

A pulse of wind emanated from his body, pushing the fog away from the quintet. Naruto cursed under his breath and sheathed his sword, his sleeve falling over his arm to cover his gauntlet.

"They escaped under the cover of the mist," Naruto remarked. "Most likely through the use of a Shunshin in order to not clue us in on their departure."

"Of course they'd escape before we can interrogate them," Ayato grumbled. "Now we don't know who sent them, or even why they attacked us in the first place."

Sen glanced at Tazuna, who faced her gaze unflinchingly for a few moments before turning away to wipe his forehead with a handkerchief.

"I think I have an idea about why they attacked us."

Sweat began to drip more freely down Tazuna's face as Naruto, Rize, and Ayato leveled their gaze upon him. The old man coughed awkwardly, raising his bottle to his lips as he spoke.

"What?"

Right as Tazuna was about to take a long drink from his bottle of sake, Rize unsheathed her katana in the blink of an eye and slashed the air before sliding the blade back into the scabbard with a faint _-click-_ ringing out around the area. Tazuna blinked before looking at his sake bottle, the lower half now separated from the upper and falling to the ground, cut clean through by Rize's katana.

"Would you mind giving us an explanation, Tazuna _-san_?" Rize remarked calmly, a single eyebrow tilting upward.

Tazuna said nothing, the only sound emanating from his mouth being the nervous gulp rising from his throat. Naruto eyed the man closely, casually removing the vials on his gauntlet and replacing them with a different set filled with a pale blue liquid in place of the previous dark purple.

"I could always _make_ him talk," Naruto said quietly, his fist flexing as the syringes extended into "ready" mode, now filled with the blue liquid.

The bridge builder's eyes darted to the syringes, the flow of sweat dripping down the side of his face increasing in frequency and velocity as Naruto took a step towards him.

"While that may remain an option should Tazuna _-san_ become difficult in being honest, we'll save it as a last resort Naruto."

Naruto glanced at Rize for a moment before nodding and stepping back, the syringes retracting as the toxin within retreated into its containers on the sides. Rize gave a gracious nod of the head towards the blond, turning back to Tazuna after she looked away.

"So Tazuna _-san_ , are you going to be honest with us?" Rize asked. "Or will we have to resort to Naruto's truth serum after all?"

"T-that kind of stuff actually exists?" Tazuna said nervously.

"Truth serum is sugar coating it," Naruto replied with a grin. "It is actually a form of psychoactive drug that will turn you into a mindless drone, making you far easier to control and thus easier to influence into doing what we want you to do, such as telling the truth for example."

"It wouldn't be permanent would it?" Tazuna asked, the frequency of the sweat dripping down his face increasing.

"Quite possibly, it is all dependent on your mental strength Tazuna _-san_."

"I meant is there an antidote?!"

"This is Naruto we're talking about," Ayato remarked casually. "He doesn't do antidotes to his poisons. After all, usually the people he uses them on end up dead or in a hospital ward for the basket cases, so why bother?"

Tazuna's eyes frantically darted around the landscape, his fearful gaze repeatedly locking in on Rize, her katana, and the syringes situated near Naruto's knuckle.

"What will it be Tazuna _-san_? Will you tell the truth freely, or will I have to strip you of your free will to do so?" Naruto asked, gently tapping one of the syringes.

Tazuna focused on the syringes one last time before bowing his head and letting out a long sigh.

"Alright, alright! I'll tell you!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but stepped back nonetheless, unscrewing the vials holding the drug while extracting one of his storage scrolls. Rize strode past him, disregarding the familiar cloud of smoke appearing around the vials and Naruto's gauntlet, before stopping in front of Tazuna.

"Well Tazuna _-san_ , start off with telling us why there were Chunin-level nukenin waiting to ambush us and most likely kill you? C-ranked missions don't cover rogue shinobi in their parameters."

"I didn't have much of a choice! The C-rank was the lowest I could afford!"

"That still doesn't explain why two Kiri nukenin attacked us."

"Not just any nukenin either," Naruto piped up, a slightly worn Bingo Book flipped open in his hand. "They said their names were 'Gozu' and 'Meizu' during the attack, which means we just faced the Demon Brothers." He closed the book with a small -snap- and centered his gaze on Tazuna. "While not much of a challenge in the long run, they are still relatively infamous for aiding a coup in the form of an assassination attempt on the current Mizukage. Thus this concludes one obvious fact, and that fact is that someone wants you dead Tazuna _-san_."

Tazuna sighed wearily, wiping the sweat from his face with his handkerchief once more.

"Yeah, someone really powerful wants me dead alright," he admitted. "Gato."

"Of Gato Shipping?" Ayato asked.

"The same," Tazuna replied.

"Isn't there a branch of Gato Shipping that ships copies of your books Sen?" Naruto inquired, glancing at his green-haired companion, silently pondering where the name was familiar..

"Sometimes, yes. Only the ones being sent out to Mizu no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni though."

"On the surface, Gato is just another businessman," Tazuna said. "But underneath all that, he runs a carefully hidden criminal operation. Smuggling, drug dealing, human trafficking, you name it. If he can make a profit from it, he'll do it. No matter how illegal it may be."

Recognition flared through Naruto's mind as he thought back to one of his previous meetings with Brother Sum and the information they went over. So THAT was why the name was familiar to him.

"That's not all however. He's even got his own enforcers to cover up some of his more obvious operations, usually where he has one of his competitors die in an 'accident' somehow," Tazuna recounted. "I've actually seen them out at night once or twice, using makeshift weapons to burn piles of corpses."

Rize's eyes widened, her thoughts flashing back to her briefing prior to the mission.

"The arson reports," she mused.

Tazuna glanced at Rize in surprise.

"You know about them?"

"Our Hokage had received some reports from Wave shortly before you requested the mission," Rize replied. "I believe that may have been one of the reasons he chose our team for this assignment, as we are better suited to deal with things such as this." Let's just get to work.

"Not to mention we're considered the best for a reason," Ayato remarked with a smirk.

Sen shook her head, an amused smile on her face, while Naruto's brow furrowed before he pulled out his Bingo Book again. Flipping it open, he sifted through the pages until he relocated the entry for the Demon Brothers.

"I am correct in assuming we are continuing with the mission then?" Naruto remarked, glancing up from the book.

"You are correct Naruto," Rize replied. "While the mission was mislabelled, the Hokage was already suspicious from the start, hence why he sent us. We're more than capable of handling whatever threats come our way while we protect Tazuna _-san_."

Tazuna let out a visible sigh of relief, a gleam of hope reappearing in his eyes.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" he cried loudly, falling to his knees and seeming to grovel at Rize's feet.

Ayato snickered from where he stood, while Sen sighed and shook her head. Naruto eyed the grovelling old man with a raised eyebrow, then he turned back to the book as part of the entry caught his eye.

"In that case, we should probably be prepared for what comes next."

Tazuna looked up from his kneeling position to gaze inquisitively at the blond.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Rize, you do remember who the Demon Brothers were in alliance with when they made their assassination attempt on the Mizukage, don't you?" Naruto asked, closing the worn book in his hand.

"Yes," Rize replied. "Momochi Zabuza, the _Kirigakure no Kijin_."

"The Demon of the Mist…" Ayato mused.

"A-Rank nukenin of Kiri, master of the Silent Killing technique, wanted for multiple counts of murder and assassination," Sen listed off.

Tazuna's hopeful expression quickly melted back into terror, one of his hands reaching for his sake bottle before he remembered what Rize did to it. Rize glanced back at him and noted his expression.

"Don't worry Tazuna _-san_ ," she said, kneeling down to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We will protect you, so even if Zabuza comes after us, we will not allow you to die."

Tazuna sniffed loudly before nodding. He accepted Rize's offered hand and pulled himself to his feet. Once he was standing, Rize scanned the landscape carefully as she tied her katana to her belt.

"Let's move out team," she called out. "The sooner we get moving, the sooner we get Tazuna _-san_ home."

The trio nodded and returned to their previous formation, Naruto stowing away his Bingo Book before allowing his gaze to wander the surrounding area, his senses extended as they had been before.

It wouldn't do for another group of assassins to get the drop on them again, even if their ambush failed.

* * *

Naruto watched as the boatman vanished back into the mist, still somewhat confused as to why he was even there in the first place. If Gato truly had Wave in lockdown as they had been told, how did the man manage to get out in order to ferry them across?

Shaking his head, Naruto continued to warily watch the surrounding area. While they hadn't been attacked again after the Demon Brothers, he refused to let down his guard in a time like this. With his vision obscured, he was left to rely on his other senses to be prepared for another ambush. And though his senses were formidable indeed, his sense of smell was somewhat hindered due to their location near the sea.

Still scanning the misty landscape, Naruto's ears picked up on a minute rustling in the bushes. His head snapping to the right, Naruto's arm lashed out and launched a trio of kunai into the underbrush.

Tazuna turned a faint green upon hearing the sound of the kunai entering flesh.

Striding over to the bushes, Naruto knelt down and stuck his hand through the branches. He reached around for a few seconds before extracting what he hit.

"Little trigger happy there aren't you Naruto?" Ayato teased. "You just killed a poor innocent little bunny."

Naruto carefully removed the blades from the corpse of the white rabbit before unrolling one of his storage scrolls.

"What are you doing?" Tazuna asked, his face still showing a faint tinge of green as he tried not to look at the dead rabbit.

"Saving it for later," Naruto replied, sealing the corpse in the scroll. "If cooked right, rabbit meat can be quite good for a meal. Not to mention it should help feed us for another night while we're in Wave." Before Tazuna could retort, Naruto held up a hand. "And while I know your family has enough supplies to feed us, we do not wish to be more of a burden. We will deal with finding our own supplies."

Tazuna closed his mouth as Naruto rolled the scroll back up. Rize glanced at the scroll thoughtfully, pondering something before her eyes widened. Her eyes darted from side to side as she undid the _sageo_ of her katana and held it in her hand.

Ayato took note of Rize's current expression before his ears picked up on a strikingly familiar sound.

"Hit the deck!" Ayato bellowed before tackling Rize and Tazuna to the ground.

Sen quickly ducked as a massive cleaver-shaped sword spun through the air over where her head had been seconds earlier. Naruto eyed the incoming blade dispassionately for a moment before the green-haired girl lashed her chain around his ankle and yanked him to the ground. The sword slammed against a tree, the immense blade embedding itself deep into the wood as a swirl of water spun into existence above the hilt before reconstituting itself into a familiar figure. Naruto sat up from his sprawled position on the ground and carefully examined his opponent.

He stood at around six feet tall, muscular, and clad in a sleeveless black shirt and pants, with a Kiri headband tied lopsided under his short, spiky black hair. He wore striped grey warmers over his shins and forearms, a black harness connected with a silver buckle crossing his chest, and the lower portion of his face was covered in a mask consisting of wrapped bandages.

Naruto stared at him for a moment longer before calmly speaking two words.

"Momochi Zabuza."

Zabuza eyed him for a moment before stepping off of his sword, ripping it free from the tree and leaning it across his shoulders.

"Someone's been doing their research," he remarked in amusement.

His gaze shifted from person to person before his dark brown eyes settled on the standing form of Rize, her free hand now laying on the hilt of her katana.

"I don't recognize your face," Zabuza mused, his eyes focusing on Rize's katana. "But I can only hope you have some skill with that blade." He shifted his stance, removing his sword from her shoulders and planting it in the ground. "No swordsman has ever been able to match me and my _Kubikiribōchō_ in quite some time, so I hope you're worth the effort."

Zabuza removed the _Kubikiribōchō_ from the ground, and as a testament to his strength, lifted it with a single hand until the tip of the blade pointed directly at Rize.

"Of course, you could always just walk away now and let me kill the bridge builder cowering behind you," he suggested. "Either way, I get to kill someone, and either way I still get paid."

Rize said nothing, merely shifting her feet slightly into a more battle-ready stance. Naruto eyed the assassin warily, gripping his sword's hilt with one hand, as Sen and Ayato grouped together in front of Tazuna. Zabuza gazed over the four shinobi and sighed, an action that for a moment had Naruto almost convinced that the assassin was genuinely saddened by Rize's decision.

"Pity that," Zabuza remarked softly. "But it doesn't matter. At least I get to have a potentially entertaining fight."

Not a second passed after he spoke before Zabuza disappeared from his current position and reappeared directly behind Rize, _Kubikiribōchō_ raised over his head before the massive blade swung downwards in a manner akin to that of a guillotine. Rize sidestepped the blade as it carved a new gouge in the ground, unsheathing her katana in a flash to slash through Zabuza's torso. The purple-haired woman's eyes narrowed as she sheathed her sword with a _-click-_ resulting in Zabuza's body exploding into water.

Rize sighed and settled into her usual stance, carefully scanning for Zabuza's next move.

She didn't have to wait long, as Zabuza emerged from the mist and hurled his sword at Rize. Unsheathing her katana once more, Rize let loose a swift slash to parry the much larger blade, knocking it to the side. It was then that she noticed the new feature attached to the end of the weapon's hilt.

Zabuza grinned behind his mask, eyes alight with murderous glee as he pulled on the chain and lashed it to the side, the _Kubikiribōchō_ being pulled along by the attached metal links to return for another slash on Rize. The undercover ANBU leapt straight into the air, the massive cleaver-like blade passing by just inches under her feet. Rize landed back on the ground as Zabuza yanked the chain back, pulling the _Kubikiribōchō_ back into his waiting hand.

The masked man quickly ran his hand along the flat of the blade, pale blue chakra igniting along the blade before melting into a thin coating of water. Flipping the weapon into a reversed grip, Zabuza lunged toward Rize and swung the blade upwards as he formed a seal with his free hand.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu! (Water Release: Water Dragon Technique)"

As the blade neared the peak of its swing, the water coating the weapon bulged along the cutting edge before being launched towards Rize as a watery projectile in the shape of a serpentine dragon.

Rize eyed the water dragon coldly before unsheathing her sword and slashing in its direction, releasing a thinly-focused blade of white-hot fire in the wake of her slash. The two projectiles connected in front of her, Rize's projectile cutting through the water and leaving only steam behind it as it continued towards Zabuza.

Zabuza chuckled and sidestepped the thin projectile, only to pause as it passed him by. Glancing behind him, he carefully observed the trunk of a tree sliding down a perfectly diagonal cut before falling to the ground.

"Hmm, not bad," he mused. "I might actually have some fun with this fight."

Naruto watched the beginning battle with interest, a small smirk forming on his face. He turned to face his teammates and the bridge builder, focusing specifically on Ayato and Sen.

"Watch the civilian," he remarked, unsheathing the sword at his side.

Immediately lightning began coiling through and around the blade as Naruto leapt into battle. Zabuza raised an eyebrow at the sight of the blond before hefting the weapon onto his shoulder.

"One more joins the fray then?" He shrugged before tilting his head, a joint in his neck popping loudly. "Never thought I'd end up kicking the shit out of some noble's brat, but there's a first for everything I suppose."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, but his stance never faltered. Zabuza gave him a quick once-over before sighing to himself.

"You want to fight me brat, then by all means, let's fight," Zabuza remarked, removing his sword from his shoulder. "Just don't go crying home when you break a nail."

Raising his arm, Zabuza let the handle of the _Kubikiribōchō_ slip through his hand as he loosely gripped the chain attached to the end. Tightening his grip, Zabuza began spinning the chain in his hand, the massive blade following suit. He smirked as he increased the speed of the chain, the blade circling faster and faster at his side until he spun the weapon over his head and lashed it at his two opponents like a flail.

Rize and Naruto swiftly rolled out of the way as the _Kubikiribōchō_ impaled the ground where they had been previously, only to be pulled back out and return to its rotating position beside the assassin.

Zabuza chuckled darkly as he flung the blade out again, yanking the chain to the side to pull the weapon towards them from their left. Naruto slashed at the incoming blade with his own sword, knocking it off of its intended path before Zabuza dashed around to Rize's right, pulling the _Kubikiribōchō_ along with him on its chain.

The assassin leapt over Rize's head and landed behind her, the immense weapon spinning through the air towards the ANBU's neck. A well-paced slash of her katana displaced blade, only for Zabuza to roll to Rize's unoccupied side and pull the sword back to his waiting hand, lunging forward in a single-handed stab with the _Kubikiribōchō._

Noting the movements of the Demon of the Mist, Naruto lifted his sword so that the point of the blade pointed skyward and grasped the hilt with both hands.

Lightning began to spiral rapidly throughout the blade before condensing around the metal like a glowing second skin. Tilting the blade horizontally until it lay parallel with the ground, Naruto took a single step forward and slashed through the air, with the end result being a glowing arc of electricity rocketing from the blade towards the Kiri nukenin.

Rize leapt aside to avoid Zabuza's lunging stab, glancing to her right to spot Naruto's projectile moving swiftly towards them. Zabuza twitched for a moment before noticing the arc of lightning. Spinning the _Kubikiribōchō_ in his hand, pale blue chakra flowed over the blade as he held the flat side of the weapon in front of his body. The arc of lightning impacted with the blade, pushing Zabuza back several feet before it finally dissipated.

Zabuza regained his stance, idly slashing the air to remove the remnants of the electrified water from his blade, before spinning the _Kubikiribōchō_ on its chain and hurling it at Naruto.

He leapt over the incoming blade as it impaled the ground where he had been standing seconds earlier, only for Zabuza to pull himself towards him using the chain wrapped around his arm. Laughing with a sadistic glee, Zabuza lunged at Naruto and threw his fist towards him. Naruto ducked under the incoming arm and lashed up at him with his sword, the blade barely being blocked by the chain on his forearm.

Zabuza grinned behind his bandages and raised his free hand as water began to form into a spiralling drill around his fist.

"Gotcha," he hissed merrily.

Immediately he roared in pain as a bolt of lightning pierced through the drill, electrifying both the water and his arm. Zabuza glanced to the side to see Rize charging towards him, katana gripped in both hands with electricity running along the blade. The Kiri assassin sidestepped to avoid the first stab, then leapt back to avoid the slash aimed at his torso, yanking _Kubikiribōchō_ back to his waiting hands.

Zabuza straightened up, a single eyebrow raised as he watched the lightning vanish from Rize's sword.

"Dual elements huh? Interesting," he mused.

Rize said nothing, merely lunging towards Zabuza with blade drawn. Naruto watched carefully as he lifted his sword so that the point of the blade pointed skyward. Gripping the hilt with both hands, Naruto began to focus as lightning began to emerge from the blade.

Zabuza found himself being forced off of the offensive due to the swift and furious nature of the purple-haired woman's attacks, having to block most of the blows with _Kubikiribōchō_ or the chain around his arm, sometimes even having to dodge when a projectile of lightning was flung from the blade. He leapt over another electrified strike from Rize proceeded to backflip and land on the surface of the lake. Ducking under another wave of electricity, Zabuza replaced the _Kubikiribōchō_ on his back and flipped through a trio of handseals.

"Suiton: Suigadan! (Water Release: Water Fang Bullet)"

Immediately five drill-like spouts spiralled out of the water in a manner not unlike the Inuzuka's Gatsuuga technique before surging towards Rize. Rize's eyes widened at the sight before focusing once more. She sheathed her blade and held the weapon in hand, on hand still on the hilt as the waterspouts began to converge on her location.

Right as they were about to hit, Rize unsheathed her katana and released a razor-thin beam of electricity from the blade, dispelling four of the five spouts of water. Just as she was about to follow up with a second slash, the water drill slammed into her, resulting in an explosion of water that sent her flying back a few feet.

Rize coughed and inhaled deeply to refill her lungs after having the wind knocked out of them, as Zabuza held one hand in front of his face with the other pointed towards the sky. His next words sent an unwanted shiver of unease down the back of her spine.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu."

Voluminous white fog billowed into existence around them, far thicker and much more dense than the one created by the Demon Brothers. Zabuza chuckled darkly as his silhouette vanished in the mist, his voice echoing all around them.

"You know why I'm called the Demon of the Mist, don't you?" he called out. "The mist is my ally, as darkness was the ally of the ancient shinobi before the age of chakra. This fight is over."

Back with the bridge builder, Sen and Ayato tensed. Ayato glanced around warily, sniffing the air as he placed his hands on the hilts of his wakizashi, while Sen carefully uncoiled a hooked chain within her sleeve. Tazuna at the moment was trying not to pass out at the murderous intent radiating around them in this impenetrable mist. From where he still stood with his now glowing sword pointed skyward, Naruto closed his eyes and began to focus.

An image formed in his mind, seen from the perspective of another, of Zabuza silently appearing behind Tazuna with a Shunshin with _Kubikiribōchō_ raised over his head. Naruto's eyes snapped open and flicked to his teammates.

"From the rear!" he bellowed.

Instantly Sen and Ayato spun to spot the assassin, both leaping to action. Sen lashed out with her chain to lasso the massive blade as Zabuza brought it down towards Tazuna's skull. As Sen held the weapon in place, Ayato unsheathed his twin blades and launched an X-shaped projectile of fire at Zabuza. Tazuna, realizing that he had just barely avoided losing his head, dropped to the ground and scrambled away from Zabuza as quickly as he could.

Zabuza ducked to avoid the flames, before releasing his hold on the hilt and gripping the weapon by the chain, engaging in a rather lethal form of tug-of-war with Sen. He chuckled maliciously as sweat began to run down Sen's face, yet she still managed to match Zabuza's strength.

"I can do this all day!" Zabuza called out.

Sen said nothing in response, only grinning in response that confused the Kiri nukenin. Why was she smiling like that? It was at that moment that Zabuza became aware of the steadily increasing familiar scent in the air.

Ozone, a common product of a lightning strike.

Zabuza spun around to see a bright blue glow seeping through the mist, and at its base was the blond Genin, his blade blazing with electricity. The first thing that caught him off guard was how concentrated the chakra was within the weapon, as if lightning had suddenly become complacent and wrapped itself around his blade a thousand times over. The second thing that he noticed was both the density and the surprisingly large amount of chakra there was.

Naruto smirked at the assassin as he twisted his blade so the edge faced Zabuza, the lightning coursing through the sword intensifying. Upon seeing this, Sen and Ayato both grabbed the bridge builder and leapt away from Zabuza.

"Disappear," he calmly remarked. "Disappear with the roar of holy thunder."

With those words spoken, he brought the sword down. And while Zabuza was not one to usually believe the claims of Genin, he could only describe the technique as just that. Holy thunder.

If he were to compare his previous attacks to that of a wave, then the current technique surging towards him would be more akin to a tsunami. A gigantic pulsing tsumami of lightning and raw energy that emerged from the blade and was raging across the ground before him. With little time to spare, Zabuza held up his handseals once more and began pumping as much chakra into his mist as he could. As the fog thickened, he dove to the side just as the tidal wave of electrified chakra ripped through the mist and was upon him merely seconds later..

Despite his efforts, the technique was so thick and so vast that he was unable to completely escape injury.

The tsunami of energy surged onward for a respectable distance before finally dissipating, the land it had passed through now torn asunder. Naruto panted wearily as he returned to a standing position, stabbing his sword into the ground to steady himself while sweat poured down his sallow face.

Zabuza groaned and mimicked his action, using the _Kubikiribōchō_ to rise to his feet, blood gushing from the side of his face and his now limp right arm. Much of the skin on the arm had burnt away, leaving him a useless stick of searing flesh and only a single functioning arm. Ayato watched the two warily before whispering to Sen.

"Any reason why he didn't lead with that move?"

"Just look at him Ayato," Sen replied. "He's sweating, much paler than before, and he looks like he's been fighting for several hours. Clearly that technique took a massive amount of chakra, and Naruto's reserves aren't the largest."

"Then why doesn't he just use the you-know-what to get a recharge?" Ayato asked.

"It's pride. Unless absolutely necessary, he won't resort to its chakra."

Zabuza swore angrily as he righted himself, lifting the _Kubikiribōchō_ to point the tip of the weapon at Naruto.

"I'm not easily impressed brat," he remarked calmly, despite the pain coursing through his nervous system, the electricity still reverberating throughout his body. "But that was one of the most powerful techniques I've seen in quite some time, and I've fought a Kage who was a Jinchuuriki. Unfortunately…"

Naruto grimaced and straightened his stance, grasping the hilt of his weapon with both hands. Zabuza chuckled at the sight, blinking blood out of his right eye.

"It seems that move was a one-shot wonder. And given how exhausted you look, I'll bet you're almost out of chakra. Pity for you, I'm still alive," he said with a smirk behind his bandages.

At that moment Rize appeared right behind the assassin, katana unsheathed and ready at his neck to instantly slice through Zabuza's jugular.

"Not that you will be for much longer," the purple-haired Jonin replied coldly.

Zabuza's eyes widened in shock as Rize prepared to unleash the lethal blow, only for a trio of senbon needles to impale through the nukenin's neck. Rize paused, confused, as Zabuza let out a rather pathetic-sounding gurgle before crumpling to the ground.

Rize knelt to check the man's pulse, only to find none. Eyeing the senbon, she glanced over at Naruto. The blond shook his head tiredly, falling back on one knee to kneel by his sword as Sen rushed over to check on him.

"You have my gratitude for weakening him enough for me to land the killing blow," a voice called.

Gripping her katana, Rize turned to see someone standing on one of the branches of a nearby tree. He was wearing a brown kimono with a green haori overtop of it, a brown sash with a fringed tail tied around his waist to keep it in place. His black hair was tied up in a bun with his long bangs framing his face, which was currently covered by a white ANBU-style mask embossed with a red wave design near the mouth and the symbol for the village of Kiri engraved on the forehead.

The unknown shinobi tilted his head to the side before leaping down from the tree and striding over to Zabuza's corpse.

"Had you not kept him distracted enough, I wouldn't have had the chance to finish him off, so I thank you for that Konoha nin. It would have been rather difficult to take him on alone."

A dark chuckle emerged from Naruto's mouth as he narrowed his eyes towards the shinobi, even as Sen coated her hands in healing chakra and began healing him.

"Rather bold words, coming from a cowardly Hunter Nin," he remarked calmly.

Rize leveled a small glare at Naruto before turning back to the Hunter.

"Since you're a Kiri Hunter Nin, I assume Zabuza was your target?"

"Correct," he replied. "I had been tracking him down for quite some time, and only arrived just as you began to do battle with him. So I decided the best course of action was to wait for the opportune moment to strike. And if you managed to finish him off beforehand, it's a win-win."

"Yet you stopped him from finishing Zabuza off in favor of killing him yourself," Naruto retorted, a bit of color having returned to his skin by this point.

The Hunter ignored Naruto's retort in favor of slinging the nukenin's body over his shoulder while taking the _Kubikiribōchō_ in his hand, their weight becoming evident as he struggled to carry both the sword and its wielder.

"Regardless, it all worked out for the best. Once again, thank you for your help Konoha nin."

Raising his hand, the Nin formed a handseal to the best of his capabilities before vanishing in a swirl of water. Rize gazed thoughtfully at the place where he had stood moments earlier before turning back to Naruto.

"Can you stand?"

Naruto stretched for a moment before standing back up with the aid of Sen's outstretched hand. He removed his sword from the ground and idly cleaned the tip of the blade with a handkerchief before sheathing the weapon. He turned to face Rize, wiping the remnants of sweat from his still paler-than-usual face.

"I am well enough to continue onward, provided we don't run into any other A-ranked nukenin," Naruto remarked.

"Good. Alright team, let's move out," Rize commanded.

With those words spoken, the four shinobi resumed their diamond formation around Tazuna and continued on their way towards the nation of Wave.

 _ **-End Chapter-**_

 **Author's Notes:**

 **And that's a wrap for this chapter. Thanks for reading, and if you're readers from previous chapters I thank you for your patience, and I apologize for the wait. Now that I'm on break however, I hope to start updating more frequently once again. Hopefully we'll have another chapter to** _ **Witch-King**_ **or** _ **There and Back Again**_ **posted before the month is out. So with all that out of the way, I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


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